The Scroll's Secret
by MercenaryGrax
Summary: When Naruto steals the Scroll of Seals, what he stumbles upon is something the likes of which hasn't been seen in his world before. Read on as he takes on the likes of Metroids, Space Pirates, and more!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Yeah, yeah, I know. It's a new story. You probably wanted me to work on one of my existing stories, but I thought up ideas for two new stories and I just HAD to write chapters for 'em. This is the first of two new stories that I came up with and I just had to roll with it. As you can see, it's a Naruto/Metroid crossover and I'm really glad with how it turned out. Hopefully you like it.**

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 **Chapter 1 - What's in the Scroll?**

He had done it! Naruto had successfully managed to steal the Scroll of Seals and even made it to the rendezvous point where he was supposed to meet Mizuki for his makeup test. Of course, he _did_ have to use his Sexy Technique on the Sandaime Hokage to knock him out when he was discovered, but who cares?!

Laying the scroll down, Naruto had an internal debate on whether or not he should open it for all of two seconds before he decided to open it and take a look at what was inside. The first thing he saw was the Shadow Clone Technique, which caused him to groan. The Clone Technique was the bane of his existence! Still, he decided he'd at least read about the jutsu and see what it could do differently from the regular Clone Technique. Seeing that it required only one hand sign and reading about the various benefits from using such a technique, Naruto went about practicing the technique for a short while.

Once he was positive he had the technique down pat, Naruto assigned a shadow clone to keep watch while he took a look at what else was inside of the Scroll of Seals. As he unrolled it further and further, he saw techniques that he could easily understand why they were forbidden. Such as the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique that he read about. Regardless, he continued his search for anything that might prove useful to him, and eventually stumbled upon something interesting.

There, towards the bottom of the scroll, was a strange seal that looked like a swirl, almost like a whirlpool. Feeling drawn towards it, Naruto reached a finger towards it, and when he placed the tip of his finger upon the seal, he could instantly feel his chakra being drained from him into the seal. After a good ¼ of his chakra had been drained from him, a strange medallion popped out of the seal along with a letter. Picking the letter up first, Naruto began to read it, his eyebrow rising slowly as he did.

" _Dear Reader,_

 _If you're reading this, then you're either the Kage of the village of Konohagakure or you've been entrusted with the scroll for one reason or another. It doesn't matter. What_ does _matter is that you have stumbled upon an artifact whose origins are a mystery to we who found it. My husband and I picked this medallion up after it fell from the sky and could feel a great power within it. We know not its purpose or what it can do, but we both know it is likely dangerous if in the wrong hands._

 _Whatever you do, don't put this medallion on. If you've found this, reseal it_ immediately _! This item is only to be used in the most dire of circumstances, those being if the village is at risk of annihilation or its people are in grave danger of being wiped out. Only use this item to protect your precious people! Please and thank you. That is all I have to say._

 _~Mito Uzumaki"_

Frowning at the warning, Naruto looked at the medallion and picked it up. It felt a little heavy in his hand, but he paid that no mind. Instead, he focused on the power he could feel coming from the small item. Whoever this Mito Uzumaki woman was, she was right. This thing held a _lot_ of power inside of it, he could feel it! So, pocketing it, deciding to try it out later, he smiled and rolled up the scroll before pocketing the letter as well. Just as well, considering Iruka appeared in the clearing just seconds later.

"There you are Naruto! What the hell were you thinking, stealing the Forbidden Scroll like that?!" the brown-haired school teacher scolded sternly.

Blinking in stupefaction for a moment, Naruto tilted his head and looked into Iruka's eyes calmly. "What do you mean Iruka-sensei? I was only doing what I was told for the makeup test. Mizuki-sensei said if I stole the Scroll of Seals and met him here that I'd pass and become a Genin."

Gobsmacked at this, Iruka was about to say something before they both heard a dark chuckling coming from nearby. Together, they both looked up into a nearby tree and saw Mizuki standing upon a thick tree branch with two rather large shuriken on his back. "Very well done Naruto. Now, hand it over and you'll have passed your 'test'."

Iruka narrowed his eyes and quickly withdrew a kunai from his pouch. "Mizuki, what the hell are you thinking?! You should know better than this! How dare you take advantage of Naruto's trust in you to steal the Forbidden Scroll?!"

Frowning at this, Naruto looked down at the ground, allowing his hair to shadow his eyes. Clenching his fists, he spoke in a low voice. "So it _was_ all a lie then." he stated rather than asked. "I figured as much. I hoped...I _really_ hoped. But I guess it's just not meant to be, is it?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

Hearing this, Iruka glanced at Naruto and frowned for a moment before looking back at Mizuki, a furious scowl on his face. "Answer me Mizuki, why are you doing this?!"

Scoffing, the silver-haired traitor glared down at Iruka and pointed a finger at him dramatically. "Why the hell do you think you moron?! For power! Once I deliver the scroll to Orochimaru-sama, I'll be given all the power I could ever want! I'm sick of this damn village! Orochimaru-sama has promised me so much MORE!" he cackled gleefully.

Deciding not to waste anymore time talking, Iruka threw his kunai at Mizuki and watched as he dodged out of the way, leaping to another tree. It was at this point that the person he once thought of as a dear friend turned to Naruto and spoke up once more. "Hey, Naruto. Want to know something _special_? I know why everyone hates you. Why you're ignored. Why you're treated like you're less than dirt. I know _everything_."

Eyes widening at this point, Iruka leaped into the tree and began a taijutsu battle with Mizuki in an effort to silence him. "Don't you dare Mizuki! You _know_ Hokage-sama forbade us from talking about it!"

Chuckling darkly, Mizuki landed a harsh kick to Iruka's face and sent him crashing to the ground near Naruto. "The night of your birth, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. Then again, you already knew that. What you _didn't_ know is that you cannot kill a bijuu. No, you can only seal them away. That's exactly what the beloved Yondaime did. You see Demon, the Yondaime sealed the blasted Kyuubi into you! _You_ , Naruto, are the Kyuubi no Yoko!"

Hearing this, Naruto's eyes widened for a moment before realization came crashing down on him. All the hateful stares and words. All the beatings. The loneliness he felt every day. Everything made sense now. But one thing bothered him about what Mizuki just said. Looking up into his eyes, Naruto quirked a brow at him and cocked his head to the side, a frown on his face. "You're a moron, aren't you?"

"What?" Mizuki asked, completely bewildered by what Naruto had just asked. "What the hell is that supposed to mean you lousy demon?!"

"I mean exactly what I just said you bastard! Just because the Kyuubi was sealed into me on the night of my birth doesn't make ME the demon you stupid moron! If that's what you and the rest of the villagers think, then I pity you. The lack of brain cells must make it so hard to function every day of your lives." Naruto insulted with a small smirk on his face.

Snarling at this, Mizuki grabbed one of the large fuma shuriken from his back and threw it as hard as he could at Naruto, determined to end his miserable existence right this instant. Too stunned to move, Naruto clenched his eyes shut and prepared for the end, but when it didn't come, he opened his eyes to see a sight that shook him to the core. There, in front of him, stood his sensei, Iruka Umino with the shuriken sticking out of his back. Eyes widening in horror, he could only stand there, shaking like a leaf, as Iruka wrapped his arms around him and spoke.

"I'm glad you're alright Naruto. You need to run. Go and get help. I'll do my best to hold him off. No matter what happens, just know that I'm proud of you. Now go Naruto. Hurry!" Iruka urged, a frantic look in his eyes.

Naruto was about to do just that, but it was at this moment that he remembered something. Glancing down at his pocket that housed the letter, he remembered what it said about the medallion and how it should only be used to protect his precious people. Well, after what Iruka just did for him, Naruto figured that Iruka could be counted amongst that number now. And right now, Naruto was angry enough to say 'fuck it!' and roll with whatever this damned thing could do to him. So, reaching into his pocket that housed the medallion, Naruto pulled it out and threw the chain around his neck, letting the medallion rest neatly on his chest.

In an instant, the clearing was covered in a bright flash of light that blinded everyone. When it finally cleared, allowing everyone to see once again, the sixteen year-old Naruto stood clad in a suit of orange armor with a cylindrical barrel of sorts on his right arm, a visored helmet on his head, and powerful-looking chest and leg armor while his left arm was covered in the same armor as well. He was completely covered in this strange suit of armor from head to toe, and it looked _incredibly_ powerful!

Looking himself over, Naruto chuckled a moment before he looked up at Mizuki and pointed at him with his right arm cannon. "Looks like tonight's not your lucky night bastard." When a message flashed in front of his eyes explaining how to fire an energy blast from his arm cannon, Naruto nodded once and fired upon Mizuki, watching as his blast nailed the man right in the chest. What he was _not_ expecting was for the blast to tear right through Mizuki and to keep sailing past him into the night sky.

Chuckling nervously to himself, Naruto attempted to reach back and rub at his head, only to bonk his armored hand against his helmet. Continuing to chuckle, he looked towards Iruka and shrugged his armored shoulders. "Uhh...oops?"

 _ **Later - Hokage Tower**_

Naruto currently sat in the Hokage's office staring across the desk at the elderly Sandaime Hokage. The young blond was no longer in the power armor, which was good because that was awkward to move in right now. It would certainly take some getting used to, that was for damn sure! He couldn't even _imagine_ trying to sit in this chair in that thing! Wait, he was getting distracted, his grandfather figure was trying to talk to him!

"Naruto, I hope you realize just what it is you did earlier. You stole the Scroll of Seals, an item that is _incredibly_ dangerous in the wrong hands. I'm glad it was returned safely, but that was **very** reckless of you. Still, I'm glad you managed to apprehend a traitor to our village. In light of your efforts and for what you've succeeded in doing, I'm going to deposit an amount of money equal to that of a B-rank mission into your bank account. Good job Naruto-kun." Hiruzen said with a kindhearted smile on his face.

Hiruzen frowned for a moment at this point as he decided to ask a question that was bothering him. "Naruto-kun, _why_ did you go along with Mizuki's ploy if you knew that it was a trap? Try as I might, I can't wrap my head around it."

Frowning at this, Naruto lowered his gaze to his hands folded in his lap and shook his head. "I thought it was a trap, but I wasn't 100% certain of it. I wanted so badly for it to be real. I just wanted to be a Genin of Konoha that I was willing to go along with his ploy in the hopes that it wasn't a trick. So, despite my better judgment...I went along with what I knew in my heart and mind was a trap. Sorry gramps." the blond explained.

Hiruzen nodded in understanding before he decided to just move on with what he wanted to say next. "I understand Naruto-kun. Now, I want to say congratulations on officially being promoted to the rank of Genin. You've been trying for years to achieve this goal and it's finally upon you. I expect you to be at the academy in a week's time to hear which team you're on and to meet your teammates and sensei. Do you understand me Naruto-kun?"

Nodding his head emphatically, Naruto grinned and bowed his head slightly to his grandpa, as he so affectionately called him. "Sure thing gramps! Umm, before I go though, do you have any idea what the heck this medallion is all about? When I put it on, I ended up in some strange suit of armor. All I know is it's called Power Suit and I was able to kill Mizuki-teme with it. Actually...now that I think about it...I feel kind of sick."

Noticing that Naruto did, indeed, look a little green in the face, Hiruzen passed him his wastebasket and allowed him to throw up the contents of his stomach into it. Once he was finished, Hiruzen offered his surrogate grandson a soft smile and patted him gently upon the head. "It's natural to feel that way after your first kill Naruto-kun. First kills are _never_ easy. While it _does_ get easier, I want you to promise me something Naruto-kun." Seeing he had Naruto's undivided attention, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled at his young companion. " **Never** take pleasure in ending another's life for **any** reason. No matter how despicable a person is, don't take pleasure in killing a person. For it is only when you take pleasure in killing someone that you truly become the monster people say you are. Do you understand what I have just told you Naruto-kun?"

Nodding his head, Naruto replied. "Yes gramps. I understand completely. And I promise you here and now that I will **never** take pleasure in killing someone. Just...just the thought of killing anyone else makes me want to throw up again." he admitted.

Chuckling softly in response, the Sandaime Hokage nodded once before directing his gaze to the medallion resting against Naruto's chest. "You asked me about the medallion. I have to admit that I've never seen anything like it before. Can you demonstrate the transformation for me Naruto-kun? I'd like to see this Power Suit of yours."

Nodding, Naruto stood up and began to focus on the medallion. After a moment, the armor appeared on him once again and he used his left hand to motion towards himself. "Well gramps, what do you think?" he asked casually with a smirk on his face. The blond had to admit that he felt _good_ whenever he wore this suit of armor.

Rising from his chair, Hiruzen walked around his desk and began to inspect his surrogate grandson carefully. The elderly male began to circle him and poked at the armor a few times here and there with his left index finger. When he was finished with his inspection, the old man returned to his chair and sat down once more before breathing out a heavy sigh and shaking his head. "While it is a truly remarkable piece of work, I'm afraid it's beyond my understanding Naruto-kun. According to the letter you showed me, the medallion fell from the sky. It's quite likely that it's from another world far more advanced than ours. If so, then you've stumbled upon quite the find and should take very good care of it. Don't lose it Naruto-kun, and don't let anyone take it from you. _Especially_ that power-hungry Uchiha in your class. There's no telling just what he would do with such a gift." The Sandaime warned with a serious glare on his face and in his most serious tone of voice.

Naruto nodded in agreement and frowned after a moment. "I agree gramps. But...what are you going to tell the council? You _know_ they're likely to try and order me to give this up." Naruto said with a scowl replacing his frown.

Shaking his head and taking a puff on his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi replied with, "Don't you worry about that m'boy, I'll just tell them it's a clan artifact that belonged to your mother and was passed down to you by means of inheritance. Besides, I think it's high time I told you who your mother was, at the very least. After all, you've no doubt guessed that you have a relation to Mito Uzumaki based on what this letter says, haven't you?" Receiving a nod in response, Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "I'd tell you about your father as well, but I'm afraid you just aren't ready yet m'boy."

Sighing at this, Naruto looked down and clenched and unclenched his fists in frustration. Why did his gramps want to keep his father hidden from him so badly? He just couldn't understand it! Still… "It's...alright gramps. I'll take what I can get. So...who was my mom and what was she like?"

Smiling at Naruto being mature about this, the Sandaime reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out a couple of scrolls from a hidden compartment. Handing them over, the aged Hokage began to speak. "Your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki. She was a feisty woman and was so passionate about everything she did. She loved your father very much. And...she loved you as well Naruto-kun. Don't ever doubt that. When she became pregnant with you, it was the happiest day of her life. And...there's something else you should know about her." Sighing again at this point, the Sandaime Hokage rubbed at the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as he tried to stem off the growing headache. "She was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki before you. In fact, the Kyuubi has had **three** jinchurikis. Mito Uzumaki was the first, Kushina was the second, and you, m'boy, are the third."

Before Naruto could say anything in response to this, Hiruzen held up a hand to silence him for a moment so he could continue speaking. "I know it's been hard to deal with the hate and not knowing _why_ people hated you Naruto-kun. And...I'm sorry for being such a fool. I thought if you didn't know about your burden that you could live a normal life as a normal child. I...didn't expect for the villagers to treat you as poorly as they did. It was an oversight on my part and I deeply regret leaving you in the dark for so long. I'm sorry you had to find out from a traitor about your burden. I should have told you a long time ago. Just as I should have told you about at _least_ your mother before now. You deserved to know. Can you forgive this foolish old man Naruto-kun?"

Sighing at this point, Naruto lowered his head and allowed his bangs to shadow his eyes. For a time, he just sat there thinking about everything he had been told and thinking over past events and how shitty his life had been up until now. There had been so few good moments in his life and there were so few people that were actually _nice_ to him in the village that he wondered why he even bothered some days. Still, he loved his gramps and couldn't hold this against him. So, with a reluctant nod, Naruto looked up into Hiruzen's eyes and offered him a lopsided smile. "Sure gramps. I forgive you. I still wish you would tell me about my dad, but I won't push the subject if you aren't ready to tell me."

Smiling at his surrogate grandson, the Sandaime Hokage nodded towards the door and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Thank you Naruto-kun. You should probably get going now though. It's rather late and you'll want to get some practice in with your new technique and that armor of yours. I want you to learn its functions to the best of your ability by the time team placements roll around next week. I'll let you use Training Ground #4 to practice Naruto-kun. If anyone gives you a hassle, just tell them that you're there by the will of the Hokage and if they have a problem with it, they can come speak with me. I'll set them straight." Hiruzen said with a grin. "And make sure you take these with you. They were left to you by your mother." he said as he pushed the scrolls over to Naruto, who took them with a smile on his face.

Chuckling softly, Naruto nodded at his gramps and began to leave the office. Turning back to face the Sandaime for a moment, Naruto waved at him with a smile. "Thanks gramps. Have a good night!" Naruto shouted before disappearing from sight and making his way out of the tower to begin his trek home.

 _ **One week later - Academy**_

Naruto had done exactly as his gramps had suggested and spent the week getting used to his Power Suit and making good use of his shadow clones. Sadly, he found out early on that, even though the medallion appeared on his clones as well, they couldn't use the copied medallions to transform into their own Power Suits. It seemed as if it was limited to only Naruto himself. Still, for as powerful as an artifact as it was, he didn't think that was a bad thing at all. Besides, with how his shadow clones behaved (which he found out just how rowdy and mischievous they could be), Naruto figured it was probably for the best that they couldn't use their own Power Suits.

While Naruto spent time getting used to the Power Suit and its functions, as well as getting used to moving around in it so it became something of a second skin to him, Naruto would have his shadow clones go to the library and study up on subjects that he wasn't allowed to learn at the academy. He wanted to catch up to his classmates and become as well learned as the rest of them were. But that wasn't all that he did! Naruto also took the time to borrow some low-rank jutsu scrolls from the library that were available to genin-ranked shinobi and had his shadow clones begin studying those and practicing those jutsus. Overall, it had been a very well spent week and he couldn't complain at all.

Naruto had also looked inside the scrolls left to him by his mother and was happy that she had left him a sizeable chunk of money to do with as he pleased. Deciding it was best to save the money to be used sparingly and only on things he needed rather than wanted...well, okay, he'd splurge on _some_ things, but not often! Anyways, he decided to save it and quickly resealed the money for later usage. Then there were the scrolls on ninjutsu she knew as well as her fuinjutsu kit and all of her notes on said topic. He had been _very_ excited to learn that particular ability and had spent just as much time trying to perfect his handwriting as he had getting used to his Power Suit.

Now, however, he sat in the classroom, waiting for his peers and Iruka-sensei to arrive so he could get assigned his team. As the students began to filter into the classroom, Naruto fingered the medallion and seemed to lose himself in a trance as he thought about what he had done a week ago. He still couldn't believe how easily he had killed Mizuki with a single shot of the Power Suit's Power Beam, as he learned it was called.

It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he snapped out of his trance. Turning to face the person that had gripped his shoulder, Naruto found his friend Shikamaru staring into his eyes. "Hey, you okay Naruto? You seemed kind of lost there for a while. You had me worried."

Nodding in response, Naruto glanced back at his medallion for a brief moment before letting it drop against his chest again and turned to face Shikamaru once more. "I'm alright. Just...thinking about something that happened last week. That's all. I'm still a little shaken up by what happened. I...I killed Mizuki. He betrayed the village Shikamaru. He tried to kill me and Iruka-sensei. I...I didn't mean to kill him...but it just kinda _happened_. I'm...I'm just trying to come to terms with it still, I guess." the blond explained, knowing that Shikamaru would understand him better than anyone else likely would.

Nodding his head in understanding, the Nara heir sat down in the seat beside his friend and nodded in greeting to Choji who sat down beside him before returning his attention to Naruto. "You did what you had to do Naruto. I know it's gotta be hard on you, but it was obviously a kill or be killed situation. If I was in your place, I'd have likely done the same thing. Still, I can't imagine that it's been easy on you. I've heard that first kills are the hardest and can really make or break a ninja sometimes. Are you going to be alright?"

Chuckling softly at this question, Naruto nodded in response and offered a small smile to his friend. "Yeah, I'll be okay. Thanks Shika. It's just still fresh on my mind y'know? I'll get over it. I have to."

Before either boy could say anything more, they heard a veritable stampede and glanced to the door with a sigh as they watched as Sakura and Ino tried to push their way inside, the both of them struggling against one another. Sighing softly, the boys looked into one another's eyes and shook their heads. "Gee, it's Fangirl #1 and Fangirl #2. One guess as to what they were racing here for." Shikamaru joked with a chuckle following afterwards.

Naruto barked out a laugh before he could contain it and glanced back down at the girls to see they had managed to stumble their way into the room, allowing those that had arrived after them to venture inside and take their seats. "It's the same thing they're usually fighting over. Who gets to sit next to their beloved 'Sasuke-kun'." Naruto said 'Sasuke-kun' in a swooning way and put the back of his hand against his forehead, pretending to faint backwards in his chair. Seeing he had earned some laughs from his friends, Naruto chuckled as well and grinned at them. "Thank you, thank you."

Together, they watched as Sakura and Ino began to physically assault one another via yanking on one another's hair, punching and kicking, as well as scratching and screeching at one another because they couldn't agree on who would sit next to Sasuke. It would have continued like this if Iruka hadn't appeared and chopped the two of them on the backs of their heads before telling them to just sit the hell down before he kicked them out for disrupting things. So they quickly took their seats with Ino just barely beating Sakura in sitting next to Sasuke, who really couldn't care less just _who_ sat next to him. He really just wanted them to shut up and leave him alone!

Venturing to the front of the classroom, Iruka turned around and smiled at everyone before looking into Naruto's eyes and nodding at him in greeting. Before he could say anything, one of the civilian-born children decided to pipe up and point over at Naruto. "Iruka-sensei, why the hell is the dobe here? Didn't that idiot fail?"

Hearing shouts of agreement with this, Iruka sighed and shook his head. Ordering the class to shut the hell up, Iruka looked into Naruto's eyes for a moment before glancing around at the rest of the class. "It turns out that Naruto's tests were being rigged from the start. Hokage-sama and I went through the records and found out that Naruto should have been doing much better, but people like my old partner Mizuki were sabotaging his education whilst here in the academy ever since he joined. Don't ask me why as I'm not permitted to say. Just know that Naruto's being here as part of the graduating class has to do with why Mizuki isn't here beside me. I'd say more, but without Hokage-sama's permission, I'm afraid it's just not my place to say." Iruka explained as best he could, hoping that his students would understand and not ask any further questions.

Frowning at this, some of the students looked towards Naruto with sympathetic smiles before facing the front once again. Smiling at that, Naruto nodded once before turning back to face his favorite teacher. After all, Iruka had always been fair to him and never treated him like the demon sealed inside of him.

Offering Naruto a gentle smile, Iruka turned back to face the class once again and coughed into his hand. "Anyways, I wanted to congratulate you all on passing and becoming Genin of Konoha. You're all about to take your first steps into a brand new journey and are bound to experience a slew of new adventures. I want you to remember that you represent Konoha and to present yourselves in a respectable way. Do your best and continue to be the very best ninjas that you can be. I have faith in each and every one of you. Now, let's get on with team assignments, shall we?" Iruka said with a smile.

Naruto listened as Iruka went about listing off a bunch of nameless teams of people he wasn't really concerned with. However, when he got to Team 7, that's when he finally heard names of people he was familiar with and was actually interested in hearing about. "Team 7 consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Ino Yamanaka," cue high-pitched squeal and an insult thrown at Sakura, as well as a glare at Iruka to shut the blonde up. "And Choji Akimichi. Your sensei is Kakashi Hatake. Good luck with that one. I hope you don't mind waiting for a while." Iruka said with a chuckle.

Seeing they looked confused by his statement, Iruka didn't say anything and just continued on with listing the team assignments. "Team 8 consists of Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame. Your sensei is Kurenai Yuhi." Smiling at them, he offered them a brief nod before continuing on. "Team 9 is still in circulation, so moving on, we have Team 10, which consists of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Shikamaru Nara. Your sensei is Asuma Sarutobi. I wish you all the best of luck and I hope you all have a good time with your teams and your new senseis." Iruka said with a smile before packing up his things and leaving the room.

Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a fist bump before they both patted Choji on either of his shoulders in sympathy. They did _not_ envy him for having to deal with not only the arrogant emo of an Uchiha, but also one of his die hard fangirls. Then Shikamaru and Naruto looked down at Sakura to see her sulking while Ino was gloating and mocking her. Frowning at this, Naruto got up from his seat and walked down the aisle, stopping beside Sakura's seat and pointing a finger at Ino. "That's enough Ino. Can't you see how your words are affecting her? Just leave her alone already alright? Yeah, we get it, you get to be with your crush." At this point, Ino looked about ready to protest something and Naruto held up his hand to silence her. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you say he's your one true love. Whatever. I don't care. My point still stands. Leave Sakura alone."

Looking down at Sakura, ignoring Ino who huffed in annoyance at Naruto's scolding her, Naruto reached out a hand and gently placed it upon her shoulder. "Come on Sakura-chan, let's go sit together with Shika. I know you're feeling pretty depressed, but I promise we'll do our best to make you feel welcome on our team. I hope you're willing to work with us too."

Hearing this, Sakura looked up into Naruto's eyes and seemed to be searching for something. After a moment, she took his hand and allowed him to help her up out of her seat. Following him up to where he was sitting with Shikamaru and Choji, she glanced at the one available chair and looked at Naruto curiously. "There's only one chair."

Smiling at Sakura with a kindhearted smile, Naruto walked over and pulled it out for her. "You sit Sakura-chan. I'll stand. It's okay."

Blinking in shock at this kind gesture, Sakura found herself blushing a bit despite herself and slowly took a seat, allowing Naruto to push her seat back in place beside her other teammate, Shikamaru. Looking at him, she saw the lazy Nara offering her a kind smile as well. "Why? Why are you two being so kind to me when I've been nothing but mean to you two all this time?"

Shikamaru decided to take this one and reached over, placing a hand gently upon her shoulder just as Naruto had done earlier. "We're teammates now Sakura. Besides that, we're not the kind to hold grudges against you for being like that. We're just good people. Besides, it's too troublesome to hold a grudge against someone just because they've been mean to you." he said with a smile.

Feeling tears prickling at her eyes, Sakura rubbed at her eyes to try and stop the tears from flowing. It didn't work as she soon broke down into sobs and hiccupped a few times as she released her pent up emotions. Smiling at her, Naruto and Shikamaru kept their hands placed on her shoulders to show their support and waited patiently for her to calm down.

It was at this point that they heard someone calling for Team 10 and they glanced down to see a beautiful woman and a bearded male standing in the doorway waiting for their teams. They could only assume that the woman was Kurenai, the sensei for Team 8, while the man must be Asuma Sarutobi. So, rising from his chair, Shikamaru waited patiently as he watched Naruto offer his hand to Sakura, who gladly took it and allowed Naruto to help her up. What made Shikamaru smile even more was the fact that Sakura refused to let go of Naruto's hand as they walked down to meet their sensei.

Smiling down at his team, who weren't much shorter than him, being a bunch of sixteen year-olds, Asuma voiced a simple question. "Team 10?" Receiving a nod from each of them, Asuma grinned and motioned with his head for them to follow him. "We're going to Yakiniku Q. We'll have our first team meeting there."

Mouths watering at the idea of eating at such a restaurant, the trio couldn't help but smile at one another as they followed after the man, eager to get this team meeting underway, even if only for the delicious food they'd soon be enjoying.

 _ **Minutes Later - Yakiniku Q**_

Asuma couldn't help but smile as he watched his team eat their meals together in a surprisingly neat fashion. From what he had heard about Naruto from his old man, the kid usually practically inhaled his food with no manners, but he wasn't seeing that from him now. In truth, he was thankful for that. But that isn't what his mind was focused on right now. No, what was on his mind was the fact that on the entire walk here, Sakura hadn't released Naruto's hand. In fact, she had even walked closer to him than what a person would usually be comfortable with. When they reached the restaurant, she even sat down beside Naruto. Smirking slightly, he wondered what was going on there, but decided not to pry, no matter how much he'd like to tease them.

"Alright team, let's begin with introductions. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams. I'll go first so you know how it works." Seeing each of them nod, Asuma cleared his throat before placing his hand against his chest. "My name is Asuma Sarutobi. I like Kurenai, although I haven't really talked to her about my feelings yet. I also like a variety of meats, though my favorite kind is sausage. I'm also fond of soba. Finally, I'm also rather fond of my family, namely my nephew Konohamaru."

"I dislike asparagus. Yuck." Asuma said with a chuckle. "I'm also not very fond of those who diss Wind users. Wind techniques are some of the best there is and you'd better believe it!" Asuma declared with a nod of his head. "As for hobbies, I'm rather fond of playing shogi. I hear you're quite the player Shikamaru. If you're ever up for a game or two, hit me up. I'll gladly play you." Asuma said with a grin. "As for dreams, I'd like to start dating Kurenai and, if things go well for us, potentially marry her and have some kids together. Other than that, I'd like to see you kids become the best team you can be. Now, why don't you go Shikamaru?"

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered with a sigh. "My name is Shikamaru Nara. I like my friends, namely Choji and Naruto. I also like shogi, mackerel, and kelp. I dislike anything that's too darn troublesome. I also dislike anyone that tries to hurt my friends or family. Finally, I dislike eggs. Period. My hobbies are playing shogi and cloud watching. As for dreams? I'd like to get married to a nice woman and have a couple of children. Preferably one boy and one girl. Order doesn't matter. Just so long as we can all be happy, I'll be happy. I guess I'd also like to take over as clan head someday, but it just sounds so troublesome." Shikamaru said with a chuckle.

The group erupted into laughter for a while before Naruto decided he would go next. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like my the few friends I have, as well as gramps, or as you know him, the Sandaime Hokage. I also like Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku at the ramen stand. I **love** ramen too! Definitely my favorite food, but unlike what people think, I don't eat it all the time. Sure it's my favorite food, but I _do_ eat a variety of foods."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Naruto took a bite of his food and swallowed after a moment of chewing it before he continued. "As for my dislikes, one of them would be the time it takes for ramen to cook. It's supposed to be instant. Says right on the package damn it!" Naruto said with a chuckle following afterwards to show he was trying to say it in a joking manner. "I also dislike those that can't tell the scroll from what it contains." Naruto said, receiving a knowing stare from not only Asuma, but Shikamaru as well, which was somewhat shocking to Naruto, but he didn't focus on it. Instead, he simply carried on. "I also dislike people treating me like I'm stupid. I'm a lot smarter than people give me credit for. Shikamaru and my other friends can attest to that." Naruto said with a shrug. "Finally, I dislike those that try to hurt my precious people in any way."

"Hobbies? Hmm, I like gardening. I also enjoy writing. I've been trying to write my own book for a while now, but it's a slow going process. I'm almost done with my first book though, so I've at least made some good progress! I just hope that it'll become a good seller once I manage to get it published." Naruto admitted embarrassedly as he rubbed at the back of his head, a blush on his face at the looks he was getting.

"As for dreams...as everyone should know, I want to be Hokage someday. But, I also want to see my book become a bestseller. Finally, I want to become a world renowned author, even better than Jiraiya-sama." Naruto explained, a soft smile on his face.

Smiling at his dreams, Asuma voiced everyone's thoughts. "Those are very nice dreams Naruto. I hope to one day see your dreams come true. Though I have to ask, what is your book about?" Sakura looked interested as well as she turned to face him, an eager smile on her face.

"Well, I'd like it to remain a secret for now, but I suppose I don't mind telling my team. It's an adventure and romance story with a young woman as the main character. I know, it's normally a guy as the main character, and it's probably pretty weird for a guy like me to write about a woman being the main character of a story, but I thought it would be pretty neat to do things differently from everybody else. But in essence, this woman sets out to prove that women can be just as capable as men. She wants to be her own person and ends up on a journey that she never expected to be on. This woman ends up becoming a hero to the people by pure circumstance, and along the way she meets a lot of interesting people, some of which even join her on her adventure. I...don't want to give too much away though, so I'm sorry, but I'm going to stop talking about it now." Naruto explained, a deep blush on his face at having admitted so much about his story.

Sakura was practically bursting from joy by now at hearing about his book in progress. Asuma and Shikamaru were grinning, liking the idea of the story. However, before either of them could say anything, Sakura gave Naruto a hug and a kiss on the cheek, catching each of them off guard. "Your book sounds amazing Naruto-kun! I can't wait to read it! When you finish it, I want an autographed copy immediately when it comes out, you got that Mister?!" she exclaimed joyfully.

Naruto erupted in a furious blush at what she just did and began to splutter out incomprehensible gibberish, completely unable to form a complete sentence to respond to her. When Sakura realized both what she did and what she called him, she blushed as well and quickly turned away and began to stuff her face full of food again, trying to calm down. Meanwhile, the other two members of Team 10 began to smirk, unable to hide their amusement at the situation taking place before them. After all, they now had some good teasing material and they were _definitely_ going to make use of it.

When they both managed to calm down, Naruto looked at Sakura and offered her a warm smile. "I'll gladly give you an autographed copy when I'm finished Sakura-chan. And...I'm glad you're feeling more comfortable around me." Leaning over, he gave Sakura a hug for a moment before he returned to eating his meal.

Sakura continued to blush for a little while before she decided it was her turn to make an introduction. Coughing into her fist to compose herself, she looked around at everyone before speaking up. "As you know, my name is Sakura Haruno. I like Sasuke-kun and my new friends Naruto-kun and Shikamaru. I also like my family and my favorite food is anko dumplings! I hate Ino pig, especially after what she was doing today. I also dislike those who make fun of my forehead. And I don't like spicy foods all that much. As for my hobbies, I like to read and I'm fond of studying up on a variety of topics. Finally, my dream is to one day marry Sasuke-kun and help him restore the Uchiha clan!" Sakura explained passionately.

Chuckling at this, Asuma looked between Sakura and Naruto and shook his head. _I don't know if she realizes it or not, but I think she's developing something of a crush on Naruto instead. Who knows? She might just end up with him instead of her precious 'Sasuke-kun'._ Asuma thought with a smile. _Regardless…_ "If that's what you truly want, then I wish you the best of luck Sakura." he said before taking a bite of his food.

Swallowing after a moment, he glanced around at each of his students and smirked at them. "Now, I need to inform you of something. You aren't quite Genin just yet." Holding up a hand to silence them after they squawked in disbelief, he could see a look of realization appearing on Shikamaru's face and saw that he understood what was going on easily enough. "The _true_ test will be held tomorrow. I want you to be at Training Field #10 by 10 AM. Make sure you've had a good breakfast and bring yourselves a packed lunch as well, you're going to need it." Asuma explained with a smirk appearing on his face.

Shikamaru decided to speak up at this point while the others went about finishing up their meals. "I figured as much. The test at the academy was simply used to root out the ones that didn't have the potential to become ninjas of the village. This second test is to determine who has what it takes to make it as Genin of the village, while the ones who fail will either go back to the academy or end up in the reserves. Am I right?"

Nodding his head, Asuma grinned at Shikamaru before taking the last bite of his food and swallowing it. "That's right. Very astute of you Shikamaru. Then again, I didn't expect any less of you. Now, I'll pay for the meals. You three should go on home and get plenty of rest tonight. Make sure you're prepared for tomorrow."

Nodding in agreement, the three of them thanked their sensei and rose from their chairs before bowing to Asuma in thanks. Quickly vacating the premises, Shikamaru said goodbye to his teammates before walking off towards his home. Before Sakura could go however, Naruto smiled at her awkwardly and rubbed at the back of his head. "Hey, want me to walk you home Sakura-chan? I don't mind if you don't."

Smiling at her blond-haired teammate, Sakura nodded her head and, blushing, reached out for Naruto's hand. Gently taking it with her own, she nodded again and began walking down the road towards her home. "Thank you Naruto-kun for offering. I appreciate it. And...thanks again for what you did earlier with Ino. You...I've never given you a reason to be so sweet to me, and yet you were. You know...she and I _used_ to be friends, but that changed one day. I'm still not entirely sure when it happened, but it did. We both fell for Sasuke-kun and...well...it just kind of happened. One day we were friends and then all of the sudden we were enemies. I just never thought it would get so bad that she'd do, well... **that**." She could feel tears prickling at her eyes again, but Naruto quickly reached up and wiped them away with the backs of his fingers. This simple action caused her to blush deeply and she couldn't help but stare down at the ground and away from her new friend, unable to face him right now.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at this. When Sakura acted shy like this, she was actually really cute. He couldn't help but find her adorable right now and he just couldn't help but find himself admitting something before he could shut himself up. "You know something Sakura-chan? Despite what others might think, I think your forehead is really charming. It looks really kissable." When he realized what he just said, Naruto began to blush furiously and quickly looked away, unable and unwilling to face her for fear of what she might do and say.

At this point, Sakura's whole face was as red as a tomato. Inside her mind, her thoughts were a roiling mess. _He likes my forehead! Nobody's ever said such a thing before! Sasuke-kun's never made such a comment about my forehead before! Oh Kami-sama, I'm blushing! I can't calm down! What do I do?! What do I say?!_ Sakura thought frantically to herself. Unconsciously, she squeezed Naruto's hand just a bit tighter, unwilling to let him go as they grew ever closer to her home.

 _Oh Kami-sama, why the hell did I say something like that?! Now she's going to think I'm a damn idiot! I just wanted to be nice, but I admitted something I was thinking and now...ugh. She probably thinks I'm stupid. I just wanted her to feel beautiful, because she_ is _, but now…_ Naruto thought to himself nervously. When he felt her squeezing his hand, Naruto risked a glance at her and found her blushing just as deeply as he was. Smiling at this, he realized that she was likely feeling just as nervous as he was. Breathing a sigh of relief as he came to the realization that she _didn't_ hate him now. In fact, she seemed just as nervous as he was about this whole situation. So, giving her hand a gentle squeeze in return to show his support, Naruto watched as she turned to look at him and gave her a kind smile to show his support to her.

"Sakura-chan, I don't know why things turned out the way they did between you and Ino. I'm sorry your friendship ended the way it did, and I'm sorry she turned into, well... _that_. But, I want you to know that I'm here for you. I'll _always_ be here for you. I want to be your friend. Someone you can depend on and someone you can come to for anything and everything. So if you ever need someone to confide in or someone you just need a shoulder to cry on, I'll be here for you, okay? I promise, and I **never** break my promises."

Smiling softly at him as her blush began to die down, Sakura stopped walking and gently wrapped her arms around Naruto, holding him tight and burying her face into his neck. He was a little taller than her, so that was about as high as she could reach on him. Breathing in his scent, she found herself smiling as it calmed her and she closed her eyes just taking in everything that he was. After a brief while, she pulled back a bit and placed a chaste kiss upon his cheek after leaning up on her tiptoes. "Thank you Naruto-kun. You're a really great guy. I'm just sorry I never noticed it before. And...you know something? I'm not used to people being so nice to me. I'm so used to being picked on by people that having people treating me as kindly as you and Shikamaru have is just...it makes me feel so happy. So thank you. I really mean that."

It was at this point that she looked around at where they were and came to the realization that they were right outside her house and ended up blushing furiously at seeing her mother standing in the front doorway smirking at her with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Uh, I'll see you tomorrow Naruto-kun. Have a good night!" she bade quickly before rushing to her mother and quickly began to deny that there was anything between her and Naruto as she and her mother entered their house, closing the door behind them as she did.

Chuckling softly at that, Naruto shook his head and turned around to begin his trek home. _She's really cute. It's a shame she's so into the bastard. If she wasn't interested in him, I might just have a shot with her._ Naruto thought to himself with a shrug of his shoulders. _Ah well. It's his loss that he's not interested in a gem such as her. Too bad for him._

 _ **The Next Day - Training Ground #10**_

As Naruto walked onto the training ground the next morning, he couldn't help but wonder what the test would consist of. He had to admit, if only to himself, that he was nervous. The blond wanted _badly_ to pass and become an official ninja of Konohagakure! Upon entering the training ground, he saw his two teammates and smiled at them, offering them both a wave in greeting. Looking at Sakura, he couldn't help but blush a bit as he remembered what happened yesterday. When she looked at him and began blushing herself, Naruto glanced away and began scratching at the tip of his nose in embarrassment.

Shikamaru saw this and smirked a bit, finding amusement in the situation. It was obvious that there was some attraction between the two of them, even if Sakura didn't see it yet. Still, the Nara heir hoped for his friend that something would happen there to bring them together, because Lord knows that they'd make a good couple and his friend deserved some happiness in his life.

They would have said something to one another, but Asuma soon appeared in the clearing and greeted his team jovially. Upon seeing how his students were acting around one another, the adult Sarutobi male quirked an eyebrow and looked between them for a moment before shrugging and coughing to gather their attention. Once getting it, he decided to begin. "Alright, now that I have your attention, allow me to explain the test to you." he began. "I already know that you two can work together efficiently based on what my old man told me." Asuma said, pointing to Naruto and Shikamaru. "What I don't know is how well you two can work with Sakura. So…"

Before the three Genin hopefuls could do anything, Asuma went through hand seals and declared " **Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullets!** " before spitting out a bunch of low-powered bullets of air at the trio, forcing them to separate and leap away into the surrounding trees to hide and plan out their strategies. _Good. Now to see if they can figure out the purpose of my test. Now to go after my target._ Asuma thought with a grin on his face.

Disappearing from where he was standing with a Body Flicker Technique, Asuma soon appeared behind Sakura and tapped her on the shoulder. As soon as she turned around, the Sarutobi male went through a quick series of hand signs and declared in a soft voice, " **Fantasy Illusion: Vivid Dream Technique.** " and with that Sakura collapsed, trapped in a genjutsu. However, unlike a nightmare illusion, she was trapped in a pleasant dream, one that she wouldn't want to wake up from. That was the beauty in this technique and that's why this was a genjutsu that was so hard to break out of. It was also why he chose to use it on her.

Picking Sakura up, Asuma slung her over his shoulder and hopped off with her back into the center of the clearing before laying her down beside him on the ground. He was planning to hold her hostage and using her to lure out the other two to see what they could do and how they'd go about rescuing their teammate. At the same time, he couldn't help but glance down at Sakura and wonder exactly what was going on in her dream. Was she dreaming about Sasuke...or Naruto?

 _ **In Sakura's Dream**_

Sakura glanced around at her surroundings and couldn't help but blink in confusion. She was sure that she was in the woods of Training Field #10 just a moment ago, and now she was suddenly in a house she had no knowledge of! She knew that she should feel panicked or feel that something was wrong, but for some reason she had this feeling of peace and serenity. She felt strangely happy as well, but she wasn't sure _why_. It wasn't until she heard the pitter patter of feet running down the hall nearby that she reacted in some way, and she couldn't help but let a smile come to her face as she heard this.

Soon enough, two children appeared in the living room she was in. One with spiky blond hair and the other with long, smooth pink hair. The one with spiky blond hair was a boy while the pink-haired one was a girl. Before she could say anything to them, she saw somebody else walk into the room. She recognized this person easily. It was her teammate, Naruto Uzumaki. It was at this point that she realized that these two children were theirs. Blushing fiercely, she couldn't help but cover her face with her hands and quiver a bit as she tried to wrap her head around the fact that she had been with Naruto. And yet...she was happy. She didn't understand why, but being with Naruto felt _right_. Still, what happened between her and Sasuke? Shouldn't they have been together? Wasn't he her true love? She was so confused! And this still felt like a dream! Just what the hell was going on?!

 _ **Back in the Real World**_

Naruto and Shikamaru had found each other and were currently watching Asuma as he stood protectively in front of Sakura's body. They were discussing a plan in order to try and rescue her so they could try and formulate a plan with her to take down Asuma and pass his test, but trying to rescue her from him was going to be, as Shikamaru put it, troublesome. And that was putting it _lightly_. Frowning, Naruto listened as Shikamaru put the finishing touches on their plan and nodded at him to signify that he understood. "Let's do it. I hate seeing Sakura-chan like that. Whatever he did to her, it can't be good. I hope she's alright."

Nodding in agreement, Shikamaru stepped out of the treeline and waved at Asuma. "Hey sensei, mind stepping away from Sakura? We kind of need her for the test." he said as he looked into Asuma's eyes.

Quirking a brow, Asuma couldn't help but stare at Shikamaru in disbelief. _Okay, what are you playing at Shikamaru. And where's Naruto?_ "I'm afraid I can't do that Shikamaru. If you want her back, you're going to have to take her back by force. That is, if you two can." Asuma said with a devilish smirk on his face.

Shikamaru chuckled and nodded his head. "Can't say I didn't try. Guess we'll have to go with the hard way then. Oh well." Staring hard into Asuma's eyes, Shikamaru didn't give anything away as he watched a Naruto clone appear behind their sensei in mid swing with a kunai aimed at the back of Asuma's left knee. He wasn't surprised when Asuma spun around and dispelled the clone with a brutal attack, but he quickly took advantage of the moment to activate his Shadow Imitation Technique and attempted to connect his shadow to that of his sensei's. Asuma would have tried to avoid the technique, but more of Naruto's clones appeared and kept up the attack, forcing Asuma to defend himself and avoid the attacks in every way he could.

Eventually, Asuma was caught by Shikamaru's attack and the real Naruto quickly snatched up Sakura and disappeared with her and Shikamaru into the woods once again while Asuma was let free from Shikamaru's technique. As soon as they were gone, the smoker chuckled to himself and shook his head. "Clever. They do work together well, just as pops said. Now to see how the three of them do together."

With the three Genin hopefuls, Shikamaru and Naruto looked over Sakura and frowned. The both of them could see that she was caught in a genjutsu of some sort, but they both knew she should have been able to break out of it rather easily. She was smart enough to realize if she was in a genjutsu and should have been more than capable of breaking one. So what was stopping her?

The two of them looked into one another's eyes before Shikamaru put two fingers to Sakura's forehead and pulsed his chakra through her body to snap her out of the genjutsu. When Sakura shot up with a gasp, Naruto gently wrapped her close and whispered soothing words into her ears. "It's okay Sakura. It was just a dream. You're okay now. Whatever Asuma did to you, you're okay now. You're safe." Naruto said to her, hoping to calm her down.

Sakura blinked a couple of times before looking into Naruto's eyes, nearly losing herself in them. However, after a moment she realized how close they were and found herself blushing fiercely, quickly scurrying away and stammering out an apology. "S-S-Sorry Naruto-kun. And...it wasn't a nightmare. He trapped me in a pleasant genjutsu, oddly enough. But...it was weird. I...I don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry…" she said somewhat shyly.

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at this, but shrugged his shoulders and decided to just leave it alone. After a moment, he decided to get on with their test, as it was prudent that they get to it, rather than stay here and risk an attack by their sensei. "As much as I'd like to sit here and talk about this, we need to get back to the test before sensei attacks us again. Now that Sakura's awake again, we need to formulate a plan of attack. Our goal is to restrain him, and my Shadow Imitation Technique can only do that for so long. We all need to work together in order to overcome him. So let's come up with a workable plan and then get to work." he said before muttering "Troublesome." and releasing a sigh.

 _ **Moments Later - Clearing in Training Ground #10**_

Asuma was waiting patiently for his team to make their move. While he could have gone after them at any time, he really just wanted to see how they'd go about trying to capture him. He wasn't going to attack them with everything he had. After all, he wanted them to have a chance at passing this test! Still, he had faith that even if he went at them with Chunin level abilities, at least medium Chunin level abilities, they'd be able to pass this test. Still, he'd be taking it easy on them just in case all because he wanted to see them pass. He liked this team after all!

All of the sudden, he felt a strange sensation taking hold in his mind. Glancing around, he could see leaves flying around and saw a bunch of cherry blossoms swirling around him. After a moment he felt tree roots climbing from the ground in an attempt to entangle him. Realizing what was going on, he brought his hands together and shouted, " **Kai!** " and dispelled the genjutsu.

As soon as the genjutsu was released, he saw a fist flying towards his face and quickly used a Substitution Technique to replace himself with a log. Watching as Naruto's fist impacted with the log, Asuma's eyes widened as the log exploded into tiny pieces. _Damn! I'm glad I didn't get hit by that._ He thought to himself in horror.

Before Asuma could do anything in response, he had to duck to avoid a punch aimed at his head from behind. Shooting a quick glance behind him, he could see Sakura with a smirk on her face as she performed a high kick aimed at his spine. Quickly spinning around, he brought up his arm to block her attack and winced at the force behind her kick, not expecting for her to have the kind of power behind her attack that she did. _Damn. She's strong for her petite frame. I clearly underestimated these kids._ Asuma thought to himself as he threw Sakura away from him.

Sensing something coming at him from behind, the Sarutobi male prepared to leap away, but found himself suddenly unable to move. Glancing down, he saw he had been ensnared by Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique again. Grumbling to himself, Asuma prepared to flare his chakra to escape it, but felt himself being gripped in a tight bear hug by Naruto and a few of his clones. Then he felt Sakura pressing a kunai against his throat. Chuckling to himself, he grinned and declared, "Damn. Even though I was taking it easy on you three, I'm glad you passed my test. Congratulations team. We're officially Team 10 now. We'll start taking missions tomorrow. For now, enjoy the rest of your day and do what you want. Congratulations again."

After each of them pulled away from him and cheered with each other, Asuma grinned a little more and soon disappeared in a Body Flicker to go see his old man and report his team's success with the other team senseis. While he did that, Naruto decided to ask his teammates if they'd like to go get something to eat with him. "Sooo, wanna go get something to eat at Ramen Ichiraku with me? My treat guys." he said with a grin.

Sakura smiled at him and nodded once. "I'd love to Naruto-kun. How about you Shikamaru?" she replied happily.

Shikamaru was about to agree before a thought came to mind. _This could be used as an experience to get them together. If I were to go with them, I'd just be a third wheel. Hmm...as much as I'd like to enjoy a nice meal with them, I'm more interested in seeing them get together. Sorry buddy._ "It's troublesome, but my mother wanted me to get home immediately after the test today. Seems I've got stuff to do today that she doesn't want me to slack off for any reason in doing. You two go on and enjoy yourselves. I'll see you tomorrow." Giving them a wave goodbye and a small smile, Shikamaru turned and began walking off, planning on going to see his buddy Choji and see how his test went.

Looking to each other, Sakura and Naruto shrugged before smiling at each other and taking hold of each other's hands as they did the day before. "Well, let's go and enjoy some lunch together then. Lead the way Naruto-kun!" Sakura exclaimed joyfully. "I can't wait to try some of their ramen. I've heard it's the best in the village. It has to be if you like it so much." she said with a giggle.

"Oh it is, trust me. I'm sure you'll love it Sakura-chan. Just wait until you try it. You'll be in Heaven, I guarantee it." Naruto said, a bright grin on his face as he hurriedly walked with Sakura towards his favorite ramen stand in the village. Little did they know that a certain ramen waitress would tease them relentlessly upon their arrival...

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 **A/N - Okay, now that you've read the chapter, I just wanted to clear something up. Sakura's confused about her feelings right now. She's still got a MASSIVE crush on Sasuke, but at the same time, Naruto's just been so sweet to her and she's conflicted. Nobody's ever been so kind to her before. She's not used to it and it's got her INCREDIBLY confused. So right now, she's not sure how she feels about Naruto. What she DOES know is that she likes how he treats her, which is why she's been acting the way she has around him. Make sense?**

 **Anyways, as I'm sure some of you are curious about it, yes, I AM going to be bringing Samus into the story! Not sure when I'll be doing that, but I will. I'll also be bringing in Ridley as well at some point. I dunno about other Metroid villains, but expect to see some classic Metroid stuff in this fic. It'll be awesome and I can't wait to write it all out. Look forward to it!**

 **I'd say more, but I'm dead tired and can't think of too much else to say. Sooo...peace out and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story. Love ya!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - Okay, since I updated Smashville Summoner, I figured I'd update this one next. Sooo...yay! lol. Hopefully you're all happy with this. If not...well, phooey! I wanted to update this one and that's that! *nods***

 **Anyways, this chapter things get a liiiittle crazy. And by that I mean a LOT crazy. You'll see as you read. And a fair warning to everyone: this chapter has a torture scene in it that made ME cringe and I had to stop writing for a while afterwards because I just...well I couldn't stop shaking for a while after writing it. I have epilepsy and stress-induced seizures and writing that scene was just...well...let's just say it was NOT a pleasant scene. I was in bad shape after writing that scene.**

 **So...as a man, I will warn you now: that torture scene WILL GET TO YOU REALLY BAD IF YOU'RE A MAN! It has been said. Now...try to enjoy the chapter and watch out as you read okay? You'll easily be able to tell when it gets to the torture scene as it clearly says: "Konoha's T &I" when it gets to that scene. I'd LIKE you to read that scene, because it does include some info that's relevant to the story, but if you're afraid of what you might read because of what I've said here, then by all means, skip that scene. It's not important enough to risk if you're squeamish.**

 **Anyways, please enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Let's Start a Riot**

As soon as the duo entered the ramen stand, Ayame zoned in on the fact that they were holding hands _immediately_ and began to smile mischievously at the two of them. Once they took their seats, a little wary of her smile, she turned around and shouted out to her father, who was in the kitchen cooking, "Hey Dad, guess who's here! It's Naruto, and he brought his _girlfriend_ this time, too!"

Before anyone could say anything to the contrary, they heard things clanging and bashing around in the kitchen, as well as a few muttered curses, before Teuchi Ichiraku stepped out of the kitchen and looked at Naruto with a bewildered expression on his face. Looking between him and Sakura for a few moments, the man smiled and walked up to the counter before placing his hands on Naruto's shoulders and looked into his eyes with a proud smile on his face. "You've bagged yourself a cute one Son. Congratulations! I'm happy for you!" he said sincerely happy for the teenager.

Naruto was blushing an atomic level of red by this point and glanced anywhere but at Sakura at this point. Quietly, he muttered out, "S-She's not my girlfriend Pops. She _is_ very pretty, and I like her just fine, but she's interested in somebody else."

Teuchi blinked at this and looked back at Sakura, who was blushing just as bad as Naruto was and couldn't even look at Naruto without blushing just a tad more. Looking at his daughter, he saw her nod her head and he frowned. "Son, we'll be in the back for a moment. We need to discuss something privately real quick." he said before leaving Naruto and Sakura alone as he and his daughter went into the kitchen so they could speak privately.

Once out of sight and hearing range, Teuchi looked his daughter in the eyes seriously. "I wasn't seeing things, was I? She's showing clear signs of a crush on m'boy. But...he says she likes another boy. It's that damned Sasuke kid again, isn't it?" Teuchi figured, a frown on his face.

Ayame sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, she's crushing on Naruto _hard_ Dad. The problem is, how do we make her realize it? I'm willing to bet that you're right about her thinking she's in love with that dumb Sasuke jerk. I bet he's gay. He's got all these girls that want to be with him, and he claims he wants to revive his clan, but he doesn't show interest in any of them? Some of them are pretty cute. I dunno, it'd be pretty hard to resist a cute girl willing to just throw themselves at him if he were straight." she said seriously.

Teuchi sweatdropped and scratched at his cheek from the awkwardness of the situation. "Sweetheart, you just went off on a tangent. You were saying something about making Sakura realize her feelings for Naruto?"

Ayame blinked before the light bulb in her head went off and she pounded her left fist into her open right palm. "Oh, right! Sorry about that, Dad! Anyways, somehow we're going to need to talk to her _alone_ and help her see that she's developing feelings for Naruto-kun. The best thing I can think of to do is have her compare the two and make her see for herself how both of them make her feel. For instance: When you think about them, how does Sasuke make you feel? How does Naruto make you feel? What kind of compliments have they given you? _Do_ they compliment you? Things like that. Make her realize that her feelings for Naruto are genuine while her feelings for Sasuke were just her trying to fit in with the crowd. Make sense?"

Teuchi nodded at this and smiled at his daughter. "That makes perfect sense actually. The question now is: will Naruto accept her feelings or will he think she's only moving on with him because she believes she never stood a chance with Sasuke, so he's the best she can get?"

Ayame frowned at this and looked down for a moment before she sighed and nodded her head. "I guess we're going to have to split up then. You walk Naruto home after they've eaten and paid for their meals. Talk with him about Sakura and help him realize his feelings for her and let him know that if she ever wants to pursue anything with him to give her a chance. Meanwhile, I'll stay here with Sakura and talk with her. It would be easier for me to talk with her anyways, considering we're both women and all." Ayame said.

Teuchi nodded again and looked towards the door of the kitchen. "I suppose that's the best we can do. I just hope this works." he said before they both left to go and see to their customers.

 _ **Earlier with Naruto & Sakura**_

After Teuchi and his daughter left to venture into the back of the ramen stand, Naruto turned to Sakura and sighed. "I'm...sorry about that. They like to tease me sometimes." he said apologetically.

Sakura immediately turned around and looked Naruto in the eyes. "No! No, it's okay Naruto-kun! I wasn't offended by it or anything. It's just...you know. I like Sasuke-kun. I like you Naruto-kun. You're a really great guy and a wonderful friend. But...I want to stay loyal to Sasuke-kun." she explained.

Naruto sighed at this and turned away, staring down at the countertop. "Yeah, I know. I won't say anything bad about him or anything, but I just don't know what it is you see in the guy. I mean...I dunno what I mean." the blonde sighed and shook his head before reaching up and ruffling up his hair furiously. "Don't get me wrong Sakura-chan. I'm not jealous of the guy or anything, I just don't understand what all of you girls see in him. He doesn't give **any** of you the time of day. The only thing he says is 'hn'. He glares _all the time_. You're so beautiful Sakura-chan. He'd be so lucky to have you...and he won't even _talk_ to you! I just...I don't get it, y'know?!" he exclaimed furiously.

Sakura blushed at his comment about being beautiful, but something about what he said stuck with her. Quirking a brow at him in amusement, she decided to poke a bit of fun at him. "I thought you said you weren't going to say anything bad about him?"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Sorry Sakura-chan, I just...couldn't hold it in, y'know? I needed to get it off my chest. But I'm being serious."

Sakura giggled a bit and nodded her head in understanding. "I know, and I appreciate your honesty Naruto-kun. Thank you for your concern." she said sincerely, bowing her head to him just a bit to show her thanks. "To be honest...I don't know the answer to your question." she admitted shamefully. "Ino kind of got me into the whole 'Sasuke Fan Club' thing and I just...grew to like him on my own from there. There was just something about him that attracted me to him. I'll admit that he's not exactly 'perfect', but then again...no one ever is. Does it hurt when he blows me off like I don't exist? Yes, very much so. Do I understand why I continue to pine after him when he clearly doesn't show any interest in me or any other girl for that matter? No, I do not. It...quite frankly doesn't make any sense. It just _is_. It's almost like it's an instinct that's been ingrained into me by now and I don't know how to make sense of it."

Sighing to herself, Sakura looked up at the ceiling of the ramen stand and thought seriously about what she was saying for a time before she looked back into Naruto's eyes, a dead serious expression on her face. "I could give you an answer that any of the other fangirls would give Naruto-kun and say that same old bullshit about 'wanting to cure his wounded heart'. Yes, the Uchiha Massacre was tragic and I'm sure he's still hurting from it, but he should have gotten over that by now. In fact, he should have been getting therapy for that, but I doubt he ever did. But that's not important to this discussion."

Frowning, Sakura looked down at her hands that were resting neatly in her lap. "The truth is, most of those fangirls just want him as a prize to show off to say, "Oh lookie here ladies, I bagged the last Uchiha! Look at my prized trophy husband you insignificant peons!" or some such thing. They don't really care about _him_ , only about what he _represents_." Sighing softly, she looked up into Naruto's eyes again to see him listening attentively to everything she was saying. "In truth, I don't know if Ino is the same way or if she genuinely cares for Sasuke the same way I do."

Frowning again, Sakura shook her head and looked down again, unable to face Naruto right now. "Again Naruto-kun...I don't know why I like Sasuke. I fell into the pack mentality and went for the prized trophy just because he was the best one available. By the time I knew it, I was genuinely interested in him, but I don't know _why_. It just feels like I'm _supposed_ to be interested in him. Whenever I try to figure out _why_ though, my mind drifts away to another topic. It's like something's preventing me from searching out the answer. But more than that, whenever I _do_ try to figure out why I like Sasuke, the back of my neck starts to itch and even burn a little." she explained.

Naruto, feeling suspicious about this, asked Sakura to turn around for him. Lifting up her hair after she did, he found something that he hoped he wouldn't have found there. A seal. It didn't look like too complex a seal, but he couldn't be too sure. Frowning, he was about to say something before Teuchi and Ayame came back out. "Pops, Ayame-chan, can you two please wait here for us? I've just discovered a seal on Sakura's neck that Gramps is going to want to see." he explained in a serious tone of voice.

Sakura's eyes widened at this and she looked over her shoulder at Naruto. "What? There's a seal on me?! Why?! What's it for? Who the heck put a seal on me?!" she exclaimed in a panic.

Ayame and Teuchi wanted to know as well, as doing such a thing to a beautiful young woman like Sakura was highly immoral. However, they would allow Naruto to handle this. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sakura and held her close. "Relax Sakura-chan. We'll get this taken care of _and_ find out who put this on you somehow, I promise." he said in as calming a voice as he could. When she began to calm down, he smiled and took her hand in his. "Let's go Sakura-chan." he said before helping her up from her stool. Together they both began their walk to the Hokage Tower where they would speak with the Hokage about getting this seal removed.

 _ **Hokage's Office - 20 Minutes Later**_

The duo had taken their time getting to the Hokage's office so that Sakura could calm herself. It wouldn't do to be a panic-stricken mess in front of their esteemed leader. So, now that she was calm, they were sitting in the Hokage's office in two chairs across from his desk, staring at him as seriously as one could.

Sensing the seriousness of the conversation they were about to have, as it wasn't hard to do, Hiruzen Sarutobi activated the silencing seals in the room and nodded to one of his ANBU guards to ensure that they weren't disturbed. "Naruto-kun, what brings you and young Sakura-chan here to me tonight? I heard you passed your Genin exam, the both of you, so I feel congratulations are in order. However, it would seem that this is not what brings you here. So, what is it that troubles you?"

Naruto looked from his 'Gramps' to Sakura and frowned. "Gramps...someone placed a seal on Sakura-chan. It's on the back of her neck. She says it itches and burns whenever she tries to figure out why she likes Sasuke so much. She's admitted that she doesn't even understand _why_ she likes him. She's even admitted that she's tried to figure it out before. But…"

Sakura took over the explanation at this point. "Hokage-sama, every time I try to figure out what's going on or why I like Sasuke-kun as much as I do, my thoughts drift to something else and I feel this strange itching sensation in the back of my neck, as well as this weird burning feeling. As Naruto pointed out earlier tonight, there's really nothing much about Sasuke-kun that's all that attractive about him. Sure he's got looks and that bad boy attitude going for him, but that can only go so far. He doesn't talk to anyone, he's rude, he's arrogant...the list goes on. Ugh."

Sakura clutched at the back of her neck and groaned in pain. "Talking bad about Sasuke-kun seems to make it hurt really bad. I didn't know it would do that. I've never said anything bad about him before! It hurts!"

The Sandaime Hokage quickly rose from his chair and rushed around to Sakura, pulling her out of her chair and turning her around so he could get a close look at the seal on her neck. What he saw disturbed him greatly. It wasn't a complicated seal, just something that looked to have been thrown together quickly, but it was a cruel one. It was pulsing an angry red color and sending electric jolts throughout her nerve endings in the back of her neck, which is what was causing her to feel all that pain.

Just from looking at it, he could tell that it had a few purposes, none of which were good. The first purpose was to instill in its victim a desire for a select individual or thing, in this case: Sasuke Uchiha. The second purpose was to punish the victim should she (or he if the seal was placed on a male) speak ill of said person or thing. The third purpose was to prevent the victim from questioning their unusual desire for said person or thing. Finally, should all else fail, the seal had one final purpose: it would shut down the victim's brain and nervous system and thus kill the victim. All-in-all, it was a horrible seal and it _needed_ to be removed _immediately_.

Thankfully, this was a shoddy seal created by someone that was obviously not a seal master. It wasn't a layered seal, and it would be easy enough to remove, even for a novice in the art of seals. The likes of Jiraiya, a seal master, would not be needed to deal with this. So, asking Sakura to remain calm, Hiruzen went and grabbed an ink brush and inkwell and began to inscribe a series of complex seal work on and around Sakura's neck.

Once he had finished, the Sandaime patted Sakura gently on the head and smiled at her. "You'll be alright Sakura-chan. Just relax and try to stay calm." he said in a soothing tone of voice. Afterwards, he placed two fingers against her seal and muttered a quick command before watching as his seal went to work removing the shoddy seal work.

Sakura winced in slight pain as the seal was removed from her neck, but when the pain died down, she felt nothing but a soothing feeling of relief wash over her. Afterwards, she turned and hugged the Hokage, thanking him for freeing her from the seal. However, after a moment she released him and began to think about something. "Hokage-sama, who do you think could have put this seal on me? I know it wasn't my mom, she would never do such a thing to me. In fact, just yesterday she was teasing me about holding hands with Naruto-kun and going on a date with him and stuff." Sakura admitted with a blush. "The only other person I can think of...would be my dad. But...why would he do such a thing?"

Hiruzen sighed as he returned to his big, comfy chair behind his desk, putting his items away in their proper place once again. Propping his arms upon the desk and steepling his fingers together so he could rest his chin upon them, he looked seriously into Sakura's eyes. "I can think of a few reasons Kizashi would do such a thing. I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to send your father to Ibiki for questioning. If he is, indeed, the one responsible for putting this seal on you, Ibiki is the right man to pry that information out of him. I will let you know right away if he's the one to have done such a thing. Because...I'm sad to say, that seal was a nasty piece of work. If I hadn't removed it, the blasted thing could have one day _killed_ you."

Sakura and Naruto went wide-eyed at this piece of information and the pink-haired teenager began to break down, tears streaming down her cheeks. "If...if my father really did put that seal on me...then...oh Kami...why Dad? Why would you do such a thing?" she asked, unable to comprehend why her own _father_ would put such a horrific seal on his own _daughter_!

Naruto reached over and gently took Sakura's hand in his. Squeezing it gently, he was glad when Sakura squeezed his hand back. This was a way for them to show their support to one another and he was glad that they could be there for one another.

"Sakura-chan...I don't know if your father was the one to put that seal on you, but if he was...I promise you that he won't get away with it. Gramps and the others will make sure he pays for his crimes against you. And if he somehow _does_ get away, I won't let him get anywhere _near_ you. I give you my word, and I never break a promise, just as I told you before. You're safe now Sakura-chan." he assured her with a kind smile on his face.

The pink-haired girl smiled at her friend and hugged him tight, pressing her face into his neck and just enjoying basking in his presence. "Thank you Naruto-kun. For being here for me and for just being you. You're an amazing guy and I want you to know that. Never forget it, okay?"

Naruto chuckled a bit and began to gently comb his fingers through her hair. "I won't. Just so long as you don't forget how beautiful you are and how intelligent a person you are Sakura-chan. You're a great woman and I can't get enough of how amazing you are. Got it?"

Sakura couldn't help but blush profusely as she buried her face further into his neck and giggled a bit. "You're way too sweet Naru-kun. I swear you're going to make me fall for you." she said with a happy smile on her face.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled at this romantic little scene before he made a brief shooing motion with his left hand. "Alright you two, that will be enough of that. You two should get on home now. Sakura, one of my ANBU has already left to collect your father and take him to Ibiki, so you won't see him at home for a while. It's safe for you to be at home with your mother. If you feel comfortable doing so, you may inform her of what has happened. Naruto-kun, I hope you have a good night and sleep well." he said.

Thanking their aged leader, the duo left the Hokage's office and made their way out of the tower in its entirety. Once outside, Naruto looked to Sakura and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly for a moment. "Well...I suppose this is goodbye and good night then, huh Sakura-chan? I'd walk you home, but...after everything that's happened, I think it might be a good idea for the two of us to just get to our homes and rest ASAP. Know what I mean?"

The pink-haired girl smiled at him and nodded. "I understand Naruto-kun. But…" here, she surprised Naruto by leaning up and planting a soft kiss on his lips that lasted for a good twenty seconds, effectively taking his and her breath away. When she pulled away, she winked at him and grinned. "There we go. Think of that as a thank you for saving me. And...think of it as a way to show you that maybe...juuust maybe, I want to be a _liiiittle_ something more with you. If you're willing to have a girlfriend like me, of course." she said with a giggle.

Naruto blinked and looked at Sakura stunned. "Y-You're serious?" Seeing her nod once with an even wider grin on her face, Naruto couldn't help but grin wide himself and hug her tight, picking her up and spinning her around in excitement. "Of course I'd be happy to have you as my girlfriend! Why wouldn't I be?!"

Giggling to herself, Sakura waited until he put her back on the ground before she kissed him on the lips again, savoring the taste of his lips this time as their kiss went on for longer. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, just enjoying being held in his arms. She felt _safe_ with him and just could _not_ get enough of this happy feeling inside of her whenever she was with him.

Naruto, on the other hand, felt like he was about to burst with joy! He was so giddy about this! This beautiful young woman before him was his first kiss, his girlfriend, his _everything_ and he couldn't be any happier! She was just so amazing and he just did _not_ want to let her go! Oh man, the taste of her lips was amazing! And as he held her close, his hands placed gingerly upon her waist, he couldn't help but love everything about her at this moment in time.

However, all things have to come to an end at some point. So, pulling apart from one another, they both giggled happily and looked away from each other, blushing badly. "W-Wow." they both said. "W-We should probably get going. Before we end up keeping each other for too much longer." Sakura said.

Naruto nodded his head and blushed just a tad more. "Y-Yeah. Wouldn't want your mother to worry too much and come looking for you. That would probably be kind of bad. I'll...I'll miss you though. Take care okay?" he said.

Sakura blushed and hugged him just a bit tighter. "I'll miss you too Naru-kun. Sleep well okay? Bye!" she said before she ran off towards home.

The blonde ninja blushed a bit and giggled to himself as he turned and began walking towards home, never noticing how a certain fellow blonde had spied the whole situation taking place with a mischievous glint in her eye.

 _ **The Next Day - Noon**_

Naruto couldn't help but notice the glares today were even worse than usual as he made his way to Training Ground #10. He had heard them whispering about him, but he was used to that. However, it was _what_ they were whispering about that bothered him. _Somebody must have seen Sakura-chan and me together and spread the news. There's no other explanation._ He thought to himself as he made his way onto the training ground where his team was waiting for him.

Immediately, he could tell that Sakura had been crying. It appeared that Shikamaru and Asuma had been trying to console her, but it had been a futile effort it seemed. Looking to them for an explanation, he folded his arms across his chest and quirked a brow in anticipation of what they would have to say.

Asuma sighed and shook his head. "I assume you heard those bastards talking about you as you walked through the streets Naruto." he stated more than asked. Receiving a nod in return, the smoker nodded once and closed his eyes. "I thought so. Turns out that someone saw the two of you kissing last night and spread the news. Now practically the whole village believes that the 'demon' has used his 'vile magic' to seduce a young woman into being his love slave. That's the polite terminology, you don't want to hear the worst of the things they've been saying. Suffice it to say, they've approached Sakura and harassed her about being with you and tried to 'convince' her to leave you before it's too late. When she refused…" Asuma nodded towards Sakura in a motion for Naruto to take a closer look.

Naruto frowned at this and took a close look at Sakura, noticing some bruising on her wrists as well as a bruise on her right cheek and some cuts on various parts of her body. Seeing this caused Naruto to grow _furious_. As his anger spiked, Naruto began to unconsciously draw on the Kyuubi's chakra, though Asuma noticed and quickly placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Naruto, calm yourself! We're going to talk to my father today and see if he can somehow quell the masses and do something about this! He should be able to do something about keeping both you _and_ Sakura safe from these pe...no, they aren't people. They're _monsters_. Pops should be able to do something damn it. Come on you three, we're heading there right now to talk to him. Then, we'll get to training. I won't have you doing any missions just yet until this problem has been settled." he explained. "If we _do_ take any missions, we'll be taking C-rank missions _only_ that take us out of the village. No D-ranks, because those are chores that will keep us in the village and take us around the civilians that did this to Sakura. So I'm going to train you three into the ground until we're ready for the toughest C-ranks we can do, got it?"

Naruto and Shikamaru both looked at each other before looking back at Asuma and shouting out, "Yes, sensei!" before Naruto wrapped his arms around Sakura and pulled her close against him, allowing her to bury her head against his chest and cling to him. She began to calm down immediately, her tears slowly coming to a stop, and eventually she stopping sobbing and hiccuping altogether. Looking up into her boyfriend's eyes, she saw him smiling at her and she couldn't help but smile slightly as well. "Are you feeling better now Sakura-chan?"

Sakura blushed a bit and nodded slowly. "A little. Thank you Naruto-kun." she said before leaning up to kiss him lightly on the lips. Afterwards, she looked around to see Asuma and Shikamaru smiling kindly at her and she smiled back at them. "Thank you both too, for being here for me. And...for not teasing me about my new relationship with Naru-kun." she said, smiling sweetly at them.

Shikamaru chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Nah, think nothing of it. It'd be too troublesome anyways to make fun of you two. Besides, so long as you're both happy, I'm happy for you." he said with a smile on his face.

Asuma smiled back and motioned for them to follow him as he began to make his way towards the Hokage Tower. "You're welcome Sakura. I wouldn't tease you about something like that. Besides, the two of you are trying to explore your feelings for one another. They're something new that you both need to experience for yourselves. I say see where this relationship of yours goes and be happy together. So long as you do that, I'm happy for you." he explained as he hopped up onto the roof of a building and motioned for his students to do the same.

Doing as their sensei did, the group began to roof hop their way to the Hokage tower. However, along the way, they couldn't help but overhear a conversation taking place down below that caused them to pause in their tracks and listen in. The people that were talking down below were Ami and her friends from the academy that happened to have failed the true Genin test.

"Yeah, Ino's been going around telling everybody she can about it! It kinda helps that people have been spreading the word around the village too. But seriously, can you believe it?" Ami asked, disbelief clearly evident in her tone.

"Yeah, seriously. Who would have thought Sakura would stoop so low as to settle for _that_ loser? I mean, sure, it's not like Sasuke would go for her and that **giant** forehead of hers, but to just give up like that isn't like her." one of her friends said.

"Worse still is the fact that the guy she used to beat up all the time is now her _boyfriend_! Sakura treated him like trash, and now all of the sudden she's _kissing_ the loser?! It's hard to believe she'd be so desperate for attention that she'd lead the poor guy on. I feel kinda sorry for him. You think maybe she's doing this to try and get Sasuke's attention or something?" another girl asked.

"Pft. As if! Sakura's so desperate for any positive attention that she'd genuinely just give in and give herself over, body and everything, to that loser just to make herself feel special. Talk about slutty behavior." Ami said with a laugh. "And she calls _Ino_ the pig."

Asuma put his hands on Naruto's and Sakura's shoulders to keep them from going down there and assaulting Ami and her friends. "I think we've heard enough. It would seem Ino's the one that spread the information around that you two are together now. And it's just spread by word of mouth from there. We should inform my dad about this and see what he wants to do." he said before they resumed their trek to the Hokage tower.

What nobody saw though was that Shikamaru lagged behind for a moment with a devilish grin on his face as he went through the hand seals necessary for his Shadow Imitation Technique. "Insult my friends like that, will you? Not on my watch." he muttered out quietly before unleashing his own brand of justice, which elicited a cacophony of screams from the girls below.

 _ **Hokage's Office - Ten minutes later**_

Hiruzen couldn't help but quirk a brow as he looked at his son and his team. Looking between Naruto and Sakura, he asked in a clearly amused tone of voice, "Back again so soon? I could have sworn we just saw each other not too long ago." he said jokingly.

Sakura pouted at that before she gave him a serious look and pointed at her wrists and then at her face right where her wounds were. "This is serious Hokage-sama. Just as serious as last night was." she said.

Asuma sighed and nodded his head as he looked at his father. "I'm sure you've probably heard all about the rumors by now Pops. Well...some of the villagers were trying to 'save' Sakura from the ' _demon_ '. When she refused to stop seeing Naruto, they did _that_ to her."

The Sandaime Hokage sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Wonderful." he muttered out sarcastically. "So you're telling me civilians assaulted one of my shinobi?" Receiving nods all around, he shook his head. "Just fantastic. Tell me, do you know who the hell spread the news around that Naruto and Sakura started dating? Wait, when the heck did the two of you even start dating?"

Naruto and Sakura both blushed and looked each other in the eyes before looking back at the Hokage. Naruto decided to be the one to speak up. "Actually...we haven't started dating yet. We just kissed each other last night after leaving your office. Apparently Ino saw us and decided to spread the news around today that she saw us kissing and that we're dating and whatever the hell else she decided to say." he explained.

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at that and turned his chair around so he could stare out the window at his village. "I see. So young Ino Yamanaka is the one behind all of this, is she? ANBU! Go and retrieve that young woman **immediately** and have her brought to the Council chambers. She is going to face retribution for what she has done. Asuma, you and your team are to come with me. I'm calling a Council meeting and everyone is to attend, yourself included as the Sarutobi clan head." he said in a commanding tone of voice.

Everyone on Team 10 saluted their aged leader and followed him through the tower to the Council chambers where both the Hokage and Asuma took their assigned seats. It took some time, but eventually the Council chambers filled in with the six civilian Council members, the remaining Clan Heads, and the Elder Council. Strangely enough, there was also a tall, white-haired man with a headband on that had the kanji for Oil on it in the room as well, standing behind the Hokage to his right.

Once the room had been silenced, Hiruzen ordered for one Ino Yamanaka to be brought into the room. When she was, she was in restraints and she was tossed none too gently into the center of the room where she landed on her knees, crying out more from the shock than the pain she was feeling. "What the heck is going on here?!" she demanded to know.

"Silence!" the Hokage demanded, his voice carrying throughout the room. "Ino Yamanaka, you have been brought before us today for the crime of attempting to incite a riot throughout the village. You damn near _have_ started a riot. And all for what? To harm Naruto? To harm Sakura? Both of them?! Was it out of petty jealousy perhaps? Well? What is it?!"

Ino was shivering in fear of the Hokage at this moment and was finding it _very_ hard to talk. As she began to stammer, he yelled at her to answer the question. Feeling tears stinging at her eyes, she shut her eyes and shouted out, "I just thought it would be funny to see both Sakura and Naruto be made fun of for being together! Naruto's a loser, nobody in their right mind would want to be with him! And Sakura's pathetic for wanting to be with him! She's been after Sasuke-kun for so long and she just gives up on him all for that pathetic _loser_ Naruto?! It was just too funny and I had to tell people all about it! Why is that so wrong?!"

Inoichi, hearing this, couldn't help but sigh and lower his head in shame. "Ino...I thought I raised you better than this. How could you have turned out to be such...such a terrible person sweetie?" he questioned her sadly.

Before Ino could say anything to her father, the Hokage spoke up once again. "I see. So that's your answer, is it? You've essentially started a riot in my village for such a stupid reason?" Sighing, he shook his head and looked into her eyes apathetically. "In that case, I hereby strip you of your headband. You are cast out of Konohagakure's shinobi forces Ino Yamanaka. Furthermore, your chakra will be sealed away, allowing you the bare minimum required to function and live. Finally, as a final punishment, you are to live out the rest of your days serving as Miss Sakura Haruno's maid and attending to her every want and need."

When it looked as if Ino was about to protest, Inoichi beat the Hokage to the punch as he shouted out, "Ino, shut the hell up and listen for once! If Hokage-sama so wanted it, he could go with the proper punishment for inciting a riot and have you imprisoned for life in a maximum security prison or even have you **executed**! He's going easy on you because it isn't a full-blown riot yet! So for once, listen to me and be a good girl! You are getting off easy when you really shouldn't be!"

Hiruzen nodded in thanks to Inoichi and looked down at Ino Yamanaka who was looking down at the ground in absolute shock. _This_ was a light punishment?! It was horrible! She wouldn't get to be with her Sasuke-kun! Some other skank would be with him! It wasn't fair!

Sighing to himself, the Hokage looked down at Ino and decided he just had to ask. "Which part is most unfair to you about this Ino Yamanaka? The fact that you will no longer be a ninja? The fact that you're stuck serving as Sakura's maid? Or the fact that you don't get to be with your precious 'Sasuke-kun'? I'm curious to know."

Ino scowled here and shook her head. "I don't want some other skank to be with him! Sasuke-kun should be mine! He _was_ mine! We passed the test together! This is so unfair! It should be me with him, not some other whore!"

Hiruzen and just about everyone else in the room couldn't help but release a heavy sigh at this. "If that is truly what bothers you most about all of this...then I pity you Ino. I truly, truly do." the Hokage said. "ANBU, take Ino Yamanaka away. Have her chakra sealed and then have her fitted for her new outfits that she'll be wearing while staying with the Haruno family. After all, she _is_ going to be their new maid from now on." he said with his grandfatherly smile directed at his hidden ANBU.

Immediately after he said this, an ANBU member appeared, bowed to the Hokage, and then disappeared with Ino Yamanaka. Turning to Inoichi, the Hokage spoke, "Inoichi...I am sorry. Truly, I am. I do not know for how long, but your daughter was lost to you for some time it would seem. This can't have been easy for you to see."

The Yamanaka clan head sighed again and buried his face into his hands. For a time, he didn't say anything and everyone throughout the room could hear his sobs. They all just let him release his stress and bottled up emotions as he needed without saying a word. When he had finally calmed down, he wiped at his eyes and took in a few deep breaths before nodding at the Hokage once. "Thank you Hokage-sama. For taking it easy on my baby girl. At least this way I can still see her, even if her mind is forever lost to me. I just wish I knew how to bring my little girl back to me. I don't know how to fix her." he said sadly.

The Hokage frowned and looked down at Sakura. "That...actually brings me to our next topic of discussion." he said. "As you all know, like Ino, Sakura here was a Sasuke fangirl as well. However…"

Taking the opening given to her, Sakura stepped forward and parted her hair in the back so they could see her neck where the seal used to be. "For the longest time, I couldn't figure out _why_ I liked him. It was almost like it was programmed into me that I _had_ to like him. Whenever I tried to figure it out, my thoughts would be redirected to something else and I would get a weird itching and burning sensation right here, in the back of my neck. And I found out last night that if I ever said anything bad about Sasuke, it would hurt really bad too."

The Hokage took over at this point. "We are telling you this because Sakura had a seal placed on her that was removed by me last night. Ibiki is currently interviewing a suspect about this seal. Unfortunately, I don't think a seal has been used on your daughter Inoichi. But…"

Shikaku looked down at Naruto and Sakura at this point and sighed. "Troublesome. You're telling us this because Sakura and Naruto had already developed some kind of romantic feelings for one another _before_ the seal was removed, and without the seal in place, they were free to act on them. The rumors we've all been hearing about today regarding the two of them…"

The Hokage sighed and looked down at Naruto and Sakura. "After leaving my office late last night, Naruto and Sakura shared their first kiss. They haven't even been on any dates yet. Ino saw them in the act though and spread the rumor around today that they've started dating and, well, you know the rest. The problem is that, well...show them Sakura."

Sakura sighed and held up her wrists for everyone to see while also showing them the bruise and cuts on her face. Naruto took this moment to explain. "Some civilians tried to tell her to stop seeing the 'demon'. They wanted to 'save' her. When Sakura-chan refused...they did _this_ to her. Civilians attacked a shinobi!"

Hiruzen sighed and shook his head sadly. "There's laws in place to protect civilians, but I never thought we'd have a problem with civilians attacking our shinobi. The problem now comes to this: what do we do about this? We can't let them get away with this. If we do, the civilians might believe that they can get away with anything. No offense to you six, of course. You've been most understanding and respectful since joining the council." he said with a smile directed at the six civilian council members.

The six of them looked at Hiruzen with a smile and shook their heads. One of them even looked down at Sakura and smiled kindly at her. "If it's any consolation, I apologize sincerely for what they did to you Sakura-chan. As recompense, why don't you come by my clothing store later and we can get you a few new outfits? I promise to give you a nice discount." she offered politely. Sakura smiled in kind and nodded happily.

Asuma furrowed his brow and looked down at his student with a frown. "Sakura-chan, do you know who it is that attacked you? Or could you at least pick their faces out of a crowd if you saw them again?" he asked curiously.

Sakura frowned at this and shook her head. "It all happened so fast. I can barely remember what one of them looked like, let alone all four of them. The one I do remember had light blue hair, he was old too, maybe in his 50s? Umm...he had hazel eyes...ugh. I really can't remember too well. All I can really remember is my wrists being grabbed so tightly they hurt while the others attempted to cut my eyes. I got really lucky." she explained.

Everyone in the room frowned at this information and tried to figure out some way to fix this situation. The Hokage turned to his son and sighed. "Asuma-kun, I want you to personally pick up Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun from their homes for training every day. They'll be safest under your protection. Once you deem them ready, I want you to start taking C-rank missions that will take your team out of the village as often as possible until the situation in the village has calmed down. Is this understood?" he commanded.

Asuma smiled at his father and nodded. "I had already planned on doing just that Dad, er, Hokage-sama." he said, quickly having to correct himself, as he was in an official setting right now. "It shouldn't take me too long to get them up to speed. They're a smart, capable group after all." he said with a smirk.

Hiruzen chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. "That they are indeed. Alright, Asuma-kun, take your team and go. I want you to begin training immediately. The rest of you, stay behind and we will discuss ideas on how to deal with this issue we now face."

Asuma nodded and quietly, but quickly left his seat and led his students out of the Council chambers as the rest of the Council got to work discussing ways to not only protect the shinobi from civilian attacks, but also how to stop the damn riot that was threatening to break out now.

Once they had left the Hokage tower, Asuma looked around and sighed at the huge mess that was the village right now. Shaking his head, he looked down at Naruto and Sakura. "I'm really sorry you two have to go through this. All because of that little gossip-monger. Ah well, let's just go. It's time for some training." he said with a grin as he began to roof hop back towards their training ground.

 _ **Two Days Later - Konoha's T &I**_

"So, you're finally ready to talk, hm?" Ibiki said as he sat across from one Kizashi Haruno, a smirk on his face. "Very well. Tell me about that seal on your daughter, you know the one."

The pink-haired man narrowed his eyes at Ibiki, but eventually sighed and nodded his head slowly. Closing his eyes, he began to speak. "You were right in guessing I'm the one that put it on her. Took me forever to make the stupid thing too. How those stupid Uzumaki's made seals look so easy is beyond me." he grumbled.

When Ibiki looked about ready to grind a screw through his hand again, Kizashi got the message and got back on track. "Anyways, as I was saying, yes, I made the seal. I put it on her in the hopes that she'd seduce that stupid Uchiha boy. She's pretty enough, she's also plenty smart, so she was supposed to be a good catch for him. But that damn boy doesn't show any interest in her or anyone else for that matter! Still, the seal was on her and she was supposed to keep trying and trying until she either succeeded or they both died, it didn't matter to me."

Ibiki snarled in disgust at this and jammed a screw into the man's hand anyways, twisting it for good measure. Listening to the pink-haired man scream for a while, Ibiki slowly ripped the small object out and looked Kizashi hard in the eyes. "What about the kill switch in the seal? What made you put such a thing on your own _daughter_?"

Kizashi quirked a brow before scoffing in disgust. He would have been cradling his hand, but both of his hands were nailed to the table and he couldn't move an inch. "So what? Am I supposed to care about that _thing_? She was only good for one thing: securing me a better future. Other than that, I had no real use for her. When my wife got pregnant, I wasn't happy. I was _pissed_. I didn't want children! I never have and I never will! Hell, I barely even wanted to be with Mebuki! I wanted to fuck Kushina's brains out! I wanted to fuck Mikoto's brains out! Hitomi! There were so many other hotties that deserved a good pounding, but I got stuck with _Mebuki_?! Where's the justice in _that_?! Ohhh man, Kushina _reaaaallly_ deserved a good, thorough fucking. That tight ass and those melons, oh Kaaaaaami above, I wanted to dive right into that!"

Ibiki felt like vomiting. This _thing_ before him was sick. It was _beyond_ twisted. Standing up, the Tokubetsu Jonin motioned for his assistants to stand Kizashi up and pull his pants down. Once they were down around his ankles, Ibiki took a look at what Kizashi had down there and scoffed. Walking over to his tray of tools, the scarred man picked up an icepick and grinned. "Now this will only hurt for a moment...or several, I'm not too sure." and with that, he grabbed hold of Kizashi's dick with one hand and jammed the icepick straight up the urethra. Needless to say, Kizashi's screams could be heard throughout Konoha and all throughout the country of Hi no Kuni for some time to come.

 _ **Five days later**_

Things had calmed down some, but people were still upset about the 'demon' actually dating someone. They still wanted to 'save' her from his clutches, but she was always with someone and was never on her own, so they couldn't do anything to stop her from seeing her boyfriend. It didn't help matters any that the Hokage had enacted new, stricter laws regarding civilians and their interactions with shinobi. Now, the shinobi could react and fight back if a civilian were to attack them. Claim it was in 'self-defense' or some such bullshit. It wasn't right!

At least, that's how they felt. Sakura was just happy to be spending time with her boyfriend. They couldn't go very many places when they _did_ go on dates together, but they _did_ go on a couple of nice, romantic dates. Sure, a few people had tried to ruin them, and on one occasion, their date was nearly ruined entirely by Kiba being a major jackass, but they had weathered the storm and were genuinely happy together.

Now, Team 10 stood within the Hokage's office awaiting a C-rank mission. Asuma had deemed them ready to go on such missions and they were _more_ than happy to be getting out and away from the stress that was the village lately.

Looking through the pile of paperwork on his desk, the Hokage furrowed his brows and sighed to himself. "I could have sworn it was right here. Now where did I put it?" he questioned himself thoughtfully as he searched for what he was looking for.

Naruto sweatdropped at this and decided to supply helpfully, "Hey Gramps...have you ever thought about just using Shadow Clones to help sort out all this paperwork for you? It might save you a _lot_ of time and effort. Just saying." he said with a shrug.

Hiruzen looked up at Naruto with a goggle-eyed look on his face and blinked a few times in rapid succession. As he realized that what Naruto said had merit in it, he slowly bashed his head into his desk and mumbled out, "I am a fucking idiot."

Releasing a heavy sigh, the aged Sandaime Hokage sat back up and formed the required hand seal for the Shadow Clone Technique and summoned forth four Shadow Clones who quickly got to work sorting out all of the paperwork while he went back to looking for the mission he wanted to give to Team 10.

Finally finding it, he motioned for Asuma to come closer. Handing the file over to him to look over, Hiruzen looked at the other members of Team 10. "This mission is a strange one. A village by the name of Inuvusha about 16 miles to the northeast of here has sent us a request asking for aid in exterminating creatures they've described as 'bizarre monsters'. When asked to describe what they looked like or give us a detailed picture, well, have a look for yourselves." Hiruzen said as Asuma passed around the drawn picture that was in the folder.

On the picture was a creature with multiple eyes, what appeared to be a hard shell covering it with multiple spikes shooting out of it, and it had mandibles as well. Naruto blinked and said, "Hold on a moment, I think I've seen something like that before in my suit's data logs. Gimme a sec." he said before he gripped the medallion on his chest tight and transformed into his Power Suit.

Switching to his Scan Visor, he looked at the picture and watched as all kinds of information on the creature began to flash before him on the inside of his visored helmet. Reading through all of the information, he nodded once and clicked on the side of his helmet, making the green visor recede so that he could look everyone in the eyes. "These 'monsters' as the villagers call them are actually called Zoomers. They aren't that dangerous as they tend to leave people alone most of the time. They're likely just trying to find a food source to feed off of. However, if they've entered their village, they're likely causing problems for the villagers, which means they _do_ need exterminating. So...I say we go and take care of their little pest problem. What do you say Asuma-sensei? Guys?" he said, looking around at everyone.

It was at this point that he noticed the looks his teammates were giving him. The only one _not_ giving him a strange look was the Hokage. "Um...guys? What's wrong?" he asked stupidly, not realizing what was wrong with this situation.

Shikamaru decided to be the one to point out the obvious elephant in the room. "Umm...Naruto? What the hell is that and since when have you been able to morph into this suit of armor?"

Naruto blinked and looked down at himself in realization. "Ohhhh. Okay, _now_ I see what's going on. I forgot I hadn't shown this to you guys yet. Y'see, I kinda sorta...found this medallion in the Scroll of Seals on the night that Mizuki tricked me into stealing it. Turns out that when I put the medallion on and I pour some of my chakra into it, it transforms me into this thing called a Power Suit, which is what you see right now. I can use what's called a Power Beam, which is where I shoot these basic balls of energy at things. I can use what's called a Charge Beam to charge up my shots and increase their power before I fire them off. That's kiiiiinda how I killed Mizuki on accident. Thankfully I've learned how to use my Power Beam without the Charge Beam by now, so...yay for that! I've also got this thing called a Scan Visor that allows me to scan things and get all kinds of information on everything. It's pretty cool!" he explained happily.

Everyone nodded in understanding at this before Asuma decided to ask, "Can it do anything else?"

Naruto frowned at this and went to scratch at the back of his head before he remembered he was in the Power Suit and couldn't do that. Drat! "It's supposed to be able to, but only when I find these things called Power-Up Stations. They're hidden around the world and this suit doesn't exactly tell me where the heck they are, sooo...I'm kinda shit out of luck on that one. I just have to hope and pray we find some of those stations when we're out doing missions. I've looked all over Konoha and haven't found anything that leads me to believe there's one here." he explained before slumping over with a sigh.

Asuma nodded at that before looking to his father. "And you didn't think to tell me in advance about this little tidbit of information because…?" he asked with arms crossed and a stern glare on his face.

Hiruzen chuckled as he lit up his pipe. "Oh, I knew he'd show you in time and I thought the look on your face would be priceless to see. And I was right, it was!" he said, chuckling some more.

Sighing to himself, the bearded Jonin shook his head and motioned for his Genin to follow him. "Let's just go. I want you three to go pack your bags for a week long mission. I doubt this will take that long, but it's always good to be prepared. And Naruto, Sakura, make sure you travel together. You're still not exactly 'safe' just yet." he said before watching the three of them leave as they exited the Hokage tower.

As they walked away, Sakura turned to her boyfriend and slugged him in the arm. When he turned to ask her why, she answered before he could. "That's for not telling me about your Power Suit before. I'm your girlfriend now. You're supposed to tell me these things!" she exclaimed with a pout.

Naruto sweatdropped and wrapped an arm around her now that he had powered down. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to, I just kinda...forgot I guess. I didn't use it against Asuma-sensei in the test because I didn't want to accidentally kill him with the Charge Beam since I still hadn't mastered using my Power Beam/Charge Beam yet. Sure I could have probably just used my armored legs and arms to beat the crap out of him, but I didn't think about that at the time. And I just...haven't had to use my Power Suit at any other time we've been together. So it just totally slipped my mind. Can you forgive me?"

Sakura smiled at her boyfriend and leaned up to give him a tender kiss on the lips before she just rested her head on his shoulder as they walked through the village hand in hand. "Of course I forgive you, you dolt. Just don't go keeping things from me like this again, got it? Otherwise, when we're married, I'm making you sleep on the couch." she said, looking up at him and winking.

Naruto blushed furiously at her comment and looked down at her in shock with wide eyes and mouth hanging. Before he could say anything, she captured his lips with hers again in a passionate kiss before she turned around and ran off ahead, forcing him to chase after her lest he lose her in the crowd. _Married?! We've barely started dating and she's talking about_ marriage _?! I can't tell if she's teasing me or if she's serious! Either way, I think I like it!_

 _ **Twenty Minutes Later - Village Gates**_

Asuma and Shikamaru were waiting patiently at the village gates for their teammates to show up. They knew that it would take them time to get here as they first had to go to Naruto's place, which was farther away, and then to Sakura's to pick up her things. But at the same time, they also knew that the two of them would likely end up getting distracted being all romantic and playful with each other. It had happened before and it was bound to happen now too. In Shikamaru's words, it was 'troublesome'.

When they finally appeared, both blushing profusely, Asuma and Shikamaru couldn't help but raise their brows in confusion. "Okay, what happened this time?" Asuma questioned.

Sakura sighed and hung her head. "Just more of mom's teasing. She said some things that were a little... _much_ this time. I don't want to talk about it." she said somewhat embarrassedly.

Naruto nodded a couple of times in agreement, not wanting to speak of what was said back at Sakura's house. Instead, he simply looked anywhere but at Sakura and said, "Well, now that we're all here, what do you say we get going, huh?"

Asuma chuckled at this and nodded his head. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Alright team, let's head out. Remember, we're heading to Inuvusha Village on an extermination mission. First we'll do some reconnaissance to determine the state of the village and how many of these Zoomers there are and their locations. Afterwards, we'll come up with a plan of attack and wipe them out. Understand? While we're making our way there, I want you to tell us everything you can about them Naruto and how to take them out. Got it?" he commanded as they began their trek to Inuvusha.

Naruto nodded in understanding and, as they dashed off, began to explain everything he could about the Zoomers from the different colors and their variations and breeds/offshoots to their feeding habits and everything else. Little did they know that they'd be meeting someone rather…'unique' in Inuvusha, nor that they'd be encountering far, _far_ more than just the simple Zoomers there as well. They'd find out soon. Oh so very soon...

* * *

 **A/N - Well, that's the chapter! Hopefully you enjoyed it. Like I said up above, there was a rather...gruesome torture scene. I've seen and written worse than that before, but as a man...that was painful to write.**

 **Anyways, a LOT happened in this chapter. I'm sure many of you are wondering what will become of Team 7. Right now they're waiting for a third member to be selected for their team while Kakashi trains his remaining two students. That's the gist of it right there. I plan to have something happen soon that will get Team 7 their third member in the next chapter, so don't worry, they'll be in the Chunin Exams and all that.**

 **There are those of you who probably think Naruto and Sakura are moving too fast. So here's my explanation for that:**

 **Naruto and Sakura are two 16 year-olds that are new to what they are feeling for one another. It's a brand new experience for them and they want to explore these feelings together with one another. They want to see where these feelings will lead and see how a relationship works out. If everything works out for them, then great. But if a relationship just doesn't pan out, then that works too, they'll stay as friends. They'll be able to say that they tried a relationship, but it just didn't feel _right_ to them. These are brand new feelings for them and they want to see if these feelings lead to love and eventually to marriage and something more, a _family_ for the both of them. Right now, it's just two teenagers exploring their feelings for one another in a passionate romance. They don't know if they're in love or not, all they know is that they really, _really_ like each other and they're fine with that.**

 **As for Ino, I'll show how she's coming along as a maid sometime soonish probably. And I might show her coming to terms with everything and maybe, juuuust maybe she'll start getting better, but I don't know. It really kinda depends on how Sasuke withdrawal affects her.**

 **And oh! Can't forget about the civilian council! I actually made them NICE! Bet you weren't expecting THAT when you read this fic, were you? An actual KIND civilian council?! lol. Yep, I figured it was about time I wrote a nice civilian council. lol.**

 **Anywho, I can't think of much else to say. I have no idea what I'm updating next, sooo...I'll just write whatever when I feel up to it. Yay! lol. Stay cool!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Okey dokey, it's been a while since I updated this one. I figured it was about time I added another chapter to this story.**

 **This chapter introduces a character Metroid fans should be quite familiar with. It also introduces a dangerous new enemy that, again, Metroid fans should be familiar with.**

 **Anyways, on with the chapter! Hopefully you enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Introducing…!**

"Wait, are you sure this is the right place?" Sakura questioned as she looked at the village just up ahead.

They had reached Inuvusha village easily enough, but when they arrived, the entire village looked as if a tornado had gone through it recently. Debris was scattered everywhere, houses were smoking, showing that they had been burning until just recently, and there weren't any Zoomers or people in sight.

"Something doesn't feel right about this…" Naruto said, sounding a tad frightened. "Asuma-sensei? What the hell do we do now?"

Asuma frowned and looked around at their surroundings. "We investigate and try to find out what happened here. This wasn't done by those Zoomers. This was done by people. Split up and search for clues. If you find anything, radio the rest of us and we'll come running."

Nodding in understanding, the Genin quickly split up to go search the village. Asuma, meanwhile, couldn't shake the feeling that they were about to encounter something terrible. Slowly heading into the village, he kept his eyes peeled and focused on his hearing as well, just in case.

It didn't take long before Shikamaru radioed to everyone, saying, "Guys, I found something. It's a dead Zoomer. But...there's more than that. It looks...ugh. You have to see this for yourself."

The team quickly found Shikamaru and, as they approached, they could smell a foul odor in the air. They saw Shikamaru pointing at something, so standing near him, they looked in that direction. What they saw made them feel sick. There were pieces of the villagers scattered about, and there was a pile of corpses, both Zoomer and Human alike, that was on fire.

Sakura, unable to take it, collapsed to her knees, her eyes wide, and she quickly began to vomit the contents of her stomach onto the ground. Naruto, being the kind and considerate boyfriend he is, held her hair back so it wouldn't get dirtied. Gently rubbing her back, he frowned sadly at her and said, "Just let it out sweetheart. I know exactly how you feel. This isn't easy to see, and…"

Before he could continue, Naruto saw movement, but when he looked in that direction, he didn't see anything. _I know someone's there. I just saw them!_

Not wanting to chance it, he touched his medallion and quickly transformed into his Power Suit. Afterwards, he activated his Scan Visor and began to look around for anything out of the ordinary. In a moment, he saw something decloaking itself and aiming a strange device at the back of Shikamaru's head. So, as his visor scanned the creature before him, Naruto leapt towards Shikamaru and pushed him to the ground right as a beam of light went flying, right where Shikamaru had just been standing.

After his scan had finished, Naruto went wide-eyed at what he was reading. This was a Space Pirate, a group of baddies working under someone called Ridley. Worse than that was the fact that these things could cloak themselves, thereby making it harder to track them and even harder to kill them.

Quickly looking back in the direction he had seen the Space Pirate, he prepared to fire upon the creature with his Power Beam, but the monster had already disappeared again. "Guys, watch out! They're invisible! We're up against Space Pirates that have cloaking technology! Don't try to fight them one on one. They're fast, they're strong, and they're incredibly dangerous. Stick together and we should _hopefully_ make it out of this alive."

Asuma frowned deeply at this information and said, "Focus your senses. If you can't trust your eyes, trust your ears. They may be fast and they may be invisible, but I doubt they know how to move silently like a ninja."

As his friends and sensei began to focus their hearing, Naruto continued to look around with his standard Visor, trying to see if there was any way to predict their movements or when they were about to attack. When he saw a small flash, he turned and, upon seeing a small glimmer, fired his Power Beam in that direction, hitting something numerous times and causing it to screech out in pain before it died.

Looking the creature over, the team couldn't help but be a bit fascinated by the creature's physiology. "It certainly looks humanoid in shape, but it's also incredibly different from us. How many of them do you think there are, Asuma-sensei?" Naruto questioned as he looked at his team sensei.

Asuma shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but I think it's safe to say that there's quite a few here. We're in for a tough fight. Everyone, stick together and we'll get through this situation alive, I promise! I won't let any of you die on my watch!"

Hearing a strange clicking sound, Sakura spun around and saw a beam of light heading her way. Quickly leaping out of the way, she looked in that general direction and quickly threw a handful of kunai at her invisible target. When two of her kunai punctured the creature's body, she watched as it decloaked and couldn't help but shiver at what she was seeing.

The Space Pirate was a bipedal creature with a bird-like head and eyes. It had talon-like hands and it had metal objects of some kind attached to its arms. It was looking right at her, as if staring into her very soul. When it raised one of its arms and fired at her with the device on its left arm, Sakura squeaked in surprise before ducking down, allowing the beam to sail past her and impact a tree some distance away. Eyeing it curiously, she went wide-eyed when the tree began to disintegrate. "Oh...that's not good."

"Agreed." Asuma said as he did battle with a Space Pirate of his own This one had a crustaceus head and had two large pincers. It was also a bipedal creature, and he couldn't help but wonder if there was more than one species of Space Pirate. Either way, it didn't matter. They needed to defeat these monsters and get out of here alive. Getting out alive was definitely the most important thing, of course.

After a while of fighting these invisible foes, the team was feeling exhausted and they didn't know how much longer they'd be able to continue the fight. They had killed at least a dozen so far, and there appeared to be at least three or four more, if their guess was correct.

Soon, they heard something approaching from up above and glanced that way to see a large, orange spaceship descending to the ground. When it came to a stop and just hovered in place, they were surprised to see someone in armor similar to Naruto's appear atop their ship. Before anyone could say or do anything, this person managed to pinpoint the exact location of the remaining Space Pirates and blasted them all with what Naruto was able to identify as a Plasma Beam.

Once their enemies were dead, Naruto took a few steps forward and removed his helmet. "Um...excuse me? Thanks for saving us. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Who might you be?" he questioned curiously.

The armored individual turned to Naruto and removed her helmet before looking him in the eyes. "I am Samus Aran, though you are free to call me Samus. I'm curious, how is it you came to possess a Power Suit like mine? I didn't expect to find that level of technology on this planet."

Naruto looked himself over for a moment before he shrugged. "Apparently, many years ago, a strange medallion fell from the sky. The Hokage, our village leader, at the time took the medallion and sealed it away in the Scroll of Seals. I came into possession of the medallion, and ever since then, I've been able to transform into this armor, the Power Suit. I'm still trying to get the hang of everything, but I know there's so much more this suit can do if given the opportunity. My suit has informed me about these things called Power-Up Stations. I just wish I knew where some were so I could become stronger. I want the strength to protect my friends and loved ones so...so I don't have to lose them."

Samus nodded and lost herself in thought for a time. Once she had gathered her thoughts together, she said, "I believe the Chozo sent that medallion of yours to this planet in an attempt to give your people a chance to survive against the likes of these Space Pirates and their commander, Ridley. As for the Power-Up Stations, I hope I can help you find them, as you've got a noble goal. However, I must insist that you help me fight the forces that threaten your planet. There are dangerous creatures out there in the vastness of space. A great many of them have somehow found their way to your world, and it's my job to exterminate them. It doesn't help matters any that the Space Pirates have begun to invade. You all did well fighting them. I'm impressed."

When Samus smiled at them, Naruto found himself blushing a bit. _She's beautiful…_ he thought silently to himself.

Sakura easily noticed how her boyfriend was staring at Samus and frowned. Stomping on his foot, she took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. When he turned to face her, she leaned in and kissed him passionately. When they parted, she said, "I know you think she's beautiful, because she is, but I'm your girlfriend, remember?"

Nodding slowly, Naruto held up a finger and cancelled his transformation, returning to normal. The sixteen year-old wrapped his girlfriend up in his arms and kissed her on the nose. "Sorry sweetheart. I was just caught off guard a bit. You shouldn't worry though, I like you a lot and I want to see where this relationship of ours takes us."

The pinkette blushed prettily and giggled happily for a bit. "Thank you, sweetheart. That means a lot to me."

Shikamaru and Asuma couldn't help but smirk at this. Leaning closer to Asuma, Shikamaru whispered, "She's got him whipped already."

Asuma chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. "That she does." Turning to Samus, the bearded jonin asked, "You mentioned the Chozo. Can you tell us more about them?"

"Certainly. The Chozo are a peaceful alien race that are avian-like in appearance. They're bipedal as well, like the Space Pirates. Sadly, they're also responsible for the creation of the Metroids and a powerful, evil creature known as Mother Brain. I'll explain more on those later, if you wish. The Chozo prize knowledge in all its forms, and they loved to explore, as evidenced by the ruins and artifacts left behind on a number of planets. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are some Chozo artifacts and ruins on this planet as well."

"The Chozo were highly technologically advanced, and prize flora and fauna alike. Normally, any power-ups you might attain are found with a Chozo Statue and grant you abilities that the Chozo, themselves, knew. So they aren't necessarily Power-Up stations, but gifts granted by the Chozo themselves. And, most importantly (to me at least), the Chozo took me in and raised me as one of their own after Space Pirates destroyed my colony and killed my parents. They infused some of their blood into me and trained me as a warrior to take on any and all threats that the galaxy might produce, especially in the form of Metroids and the Space Pirates."

Naruto and the others stared at her for a time before the blonde finally broke the silence. "Wow. They sound amazing. I'd love to meet one someday."

Samus sadly shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Nobody really knows what became of them. Yes, some are still around, but they're hard to find. Besides that, you'd need a spaceship like mine if you wanted to get out there and explore the vastness of space."

Naruto nodded in understanding and smiled at her. "I see. Well, now that you're here, why don't you come with us back to Konoha? I'm sure Gramps would like to meet you and he will probably have some questions for you. Though, what are you going to do with your spaceship? I wouldn't recommend leaving it here, because you never know what the people of this world might do if they got their hands on such technology."

The bounty hunter from outer space nodded and turned to look at her spaceship. "You make a good point." The others watched as she somehow sent her spaceship back up into orbit where it would remain until she needed it again. "That should take care of that. Now, you said you were going to take me to your village? Please do, I'm curious to learn more about this world and its inhabitants. The better I understand your people, the better I'll be able to cooperate with all of you to deal with any and all threats to this world. I just hope Ridley doesn't show up, as he's a nasty piece of work."

Asuma frowned and nodded his head. "Alright. If this Ridley is as dangerous as you say, we can only hope he stays away from our planet. Anyways, follow us, we'll lead you back to Konoha so you can meet with Pops. I'm sure he can help you out."

"Thank you. Shall we be off then?"

Asuma nodded and said, "Of course. I just wish we could have saved the villagers here. This mission turned out to be a colossal failure." Sighing softly, he shook his head before turning and walking off.

The three Genin frowned, but nodded their heads in agreement. The Hokage would need to know about the Space Pirates. They just wished they could have arrived sooner to save everyone. It didn't help that they barely managed to fight the blasted things. So, with matching sighs, Team 10 and Samus began the trek back to the village of Konohagakure.

 _ **Konoha - Hokage's Office**_

Hiruzen frowned as he looked at the dejected Team 10. "So you're telling me that you failed to save the villagers? These Space Pirates sound incredibly dangerous. I'm just glad you are all alright. Despite failing your mission, you survived against an unknown enemy with technology far more advanced than our own. For your first mission outside of these walls, despite being a failure, I'd like to congratulate you on surviving a B-rank mission. I'll have the money transferred to your bank accounts. I'm sorry you had such a hard time, Team 10."

Asuma offered his father a weak smile. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I'm just glad my team is alright and we made it out of there alive. If we had been hit by even one of their attacks, I'm sure we would have perished. They are _that_ dangerous."

"I'm sure they are. You four did well to make it back alive. Now, Miss Samus Aran, is it?" Seeing her nod in confirmation, he motioned for her to take a seat. "Please sit. We have much to discuss. After we are finished, I'll try to figure out what to do with you. If you truly mean to help the people of the Elemental Nations, you will need a home of sorts to use as a home base, I suppose would be the best way to describe it. We could definitely use your help to combat these new foes."

Taking a seat, Samus nodded her head once and began to explain what she knew, which was quite a lot. At some point during the conversation, the Hokage had dismissed the members of Team 10 so he could continue speaking with the beautiful bounty hunter alone.

Upon leaving the Hokage tower, Asuma smiled at his Genin and said, "You three did very well on the mission. You should never have had to deal with such a challenging situation on your very first mission, but you did. I'm just so glad you're alright."

Sakura smiled at her sensei and said, "It was a tough mission, but we made it out alright. I'm just happy I didn't let you three down. I'm also happy we didn't die." she said, giggling a bit nervously afterwards.

Naruto hugged his girlfriend tight and kissed her forehead. "We're alive. That's what matters. It hurts to know we couldn't save the villagers, but we brought back some vital information on a potential threat, so it wasn't a complete failure."

Shikamaru and Asuma nodded in agreement. "We'll be better prepared for the next time we face off with such creatures, that's for sure. Though we'll need to train harder than ever to ensure we're ready for them, no matter when they might strike. For now, I'll walk you two home. The villagers are likely still against your relationship and there's no telling what they might try to do while you're both exhausted. Shikamaru, I'll see you tomorrow at the usual training ground, bright and early."

The sixteen year-old Nara heir nodded in understanding before he turned and walked off, lazily waving over his shoulder at them. Once he was gone, Asuma smiled at his other two Genin and began escorting them home.

Sadly, as they walked along, they could see all the glares sent Naruto's way and heard them muttering about the demon and his whore. Seeing how it was affecting his younger team members, Asuma placed a hand on both of their heads and said, "Don't let them get to you. Stay strong and try to be happy with one another. They'll eventually let this go...I hope."

Sakura nodded slowly and clung to Naruto's arm as they walked. Naruto looked at her and kissed her lightly on her lips. "We'll be okay, Sakura-chan. Now, let's get you home."

Once they reached the Haruno household, they were a bit shocked to see Ino in a maid uniform taking care of some simple chores out in the garden. After the shock wore off, they all remembered that this was part of her punishment for what she had done. Deciding to ignore her, Sakura would have entered her home, but an Anbu agent soon appeared next to them, getting their attention. "Naruto Uzumaki, Hokage-sama would like to speak with you. Please follow me."

Naruto looked between the Anbu agent and Asuma, only to see the Jonin shrug his shoulders, signifying that he had no idea what was going on either. So, the three of them began to follow the Anbu until they reached their destination.

They were standing at the gate that protected a rather large home. They could see a seal that held that gate shut, but none of them really understood just what the seal was. It looked rather complex, after all.

Looking at the Hokage, they saw Samus was standing there with him. "What are we doing here, Gramps? I thought we'd be meeting in your office." Naruto asked.

Hiruzen smiled kindly at his grandson figure. "Naruto-kun, there's something I need to tell you. However, it's best we go inside where we'll have some privacy. So, if you'd please smear a bit of blood on the seal, we can get inside and have our chat."

Feeling a little unsure, Naruto still did as requested and was surprised to see the gate swing open afterwards. Stepping inside tentatively, he slowly made his way up to the house and looked at the door a bit unsurely. Turning back to the Hokage, he asked, "What exactly is going on, Gramps?"

The Third Hokage used a key to unlock the door and pushed it open, allowing everyone entry into the house. Once they were all inside, he locked the door again from the inside and proceeded to make his way to the living room and sat in one of the chairs. Motioning for the others to sit where they will, he began to speak.

"Naruto-kun, I've decided that it's time to come clean about a few things. I should have informed you about this much sooner, but I was afraid of the consequences doing such a thing would have caused. But, like with the Kyuubi, I should have informed you so much sooner."

Before he could continue, Sakura decided to pose a question. "Hokage-sama? What do you mean about the Kyuubi?"

Hiruzen looked into Sakura's eyes before staring at Naruto. "I had assumed you would have told her by now. Oh well." Looking back at Sakura, the elderly Sarutobi decided to explain. "Sakura, Naruto is what is commonly referred to as a jinchuriki. What this means is that he has one of the nine bijuu sealed within him. You see, the Kyuubi wasn't killed on the night of the attack, like so many believe. No, the Kyuubi cannot truly die and therefore had to be sealed. However, only an Uzumaki is capable of housing the Kyuubi, and therefore Naruto was the only choice left to us at the time. Now, let me pose a question to you, Sakura. Does this make Naruto the Kyuubi?"

Sakura quickly shook her head in the negative. "Of course not! Just because it's been sealed inside of him doesn't make him the Kyuubi! Wait…" Going wide-eyed, Sakura stared at her boyfriend in horror. "Is _this_ why the villagers are so cruel to you all the time?! Because they believe that you are the Kyuubi in disguise?"

Naruto slowly nodded his head, a sad smile forming on his face. "Yes, Sakura-chan. Either they believe that I _am_ the Kyuubi...or they believe that by hurting me, they're hurting the Kyuubi as well. The Fourth Hokage was a master of fuinjutsu and you'd think they'd place more trust in his abilities to seal away the Kyuubi. However, rather than believe in him, they'd prefer to just harm me in an attempt to hurt the thing that caused them so much grief."

The pink-haired teen hugged her boyfriend tight and could already feel tears welling up in her eyes. "My poor Naru-kun! You don't deserve that at all! You're so sweet and gentle and kind…! It's so...so wrong!"

The Kyuubi jinchuriki hugged his girlfriend tight and kissed her forehead. "I know. I've just grown so used to it by now." he said sadly.

Before Sakura could say anything more, Hiruzen looked at Naruto and decided to get down to the topic he wanted to discuss to begin with. "Naruto-kun, as I said before, I have something I need to tell you. I know who your parents are, and I've known for quite some time. Before you get too angry with me, please understand that I was just trying to protect you. However, I see now that it was wrong of me to deny you the knowledge that your parents loved you, let alone who they are. So, if you'll allow me to share that information with you now, it would do this old man's heart some good."

Naruto nodded slowly, but he had a scowl quickly forming on his face. When he didn't say anything, Hiruzen took that as his chance to continue. "What I'm about to say doesn't leave this room, is that understood?" Seeing everyone nod, he continued. "Naruto-kun, your parents loved you very much. If they could have had the chance, they'd have raised you themselves and showered you with all the love you could handle. I remember when your mother first found out she was pregnant. Your father and mother couldn't even contain themselves, they were so excited." Chuckling a bit, he decided to explain. "Naruto-kun, have you ever compared yourself to the image of the Fourth and seen a resemblance between the two of you?"

The whiskered teen frowned, but slowly nodded his head. "Sometimes, yeah. But...I always figured it was just a pipe dream. There's no way I could be related to him, after all. If I was...maybe people wouldn't be so cold to me all the time."

The Third sighed, but nodded his head. "If only people weren't so cruel and blinded by their hatred of the Kyuubi, they could see the resemblance and piece it together themselves." Shaking his head in disappointment, he closed his eyes and said the words that would forever change one Naruto Uzumaki. "Naruto-kun, your father is the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze."

Eyes widening, Naruto shook his head and said, "T-That can't be! If...if that's true...he's the one that sealed the fucking Kyuubi inside of me! His own _son_! W-Why?! Why would he curse me like that?!"

Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "There wasn't much of a choice, Naruto-kun. Besides, Minato was the kind of person that would make the decision that he couldn't curse another person's child to suffer that fate. He cared about the village above all else and its people as well. Because of these things...he had no other choice but to seal the Kyuubi inside of you. Knowing him, he was hoping the villagers would see you as a hero for holding back the Kyuubi. But...he was blind to the true nature of his people."

Naruto clenched his fists tight and let his tears flow down his cheeks. "Damn him. I can't believe I ever looked up to him! If he was still alive, I'd slug him for this!" It was at this point that he decided to ask a question. "Would my mother have wanted this for me too?"

Hiruzen shook his head and said, "On the night of your birth, someone must have freed the Kyuubi, but I don't know who it could have been. Your mother would _never_ have wanted this life for you. In fact, I'm sure she would have taken the Kyuubi to the grave with her if she could have. Knowing your father, though...he likely convinced her that the only real choice was to seal the Kyuubi inside of you. My guess is that, unable to convince her husband otherwise, she reluctantly agreed to seal the Kyuubi within you, just as he wanted. Trust me when I say that your mother NEVER wanted this life for you. She knew that if the people ever found out that you were the Kyuubi jinchuriki that they'd make your life a living Hell."

Naruto nodded slowly in understanding as he clenched his eyes shut to try and stop the flow of tears cascading down his cheeks. "It sounds like the Fourth was an idealistic fool that placed too much blind trust in the villagers. Are you sure he didn't just want me to be the villager's weapon or something?"

Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "No, Naruto-kun. Knowing him, he wanted you to have a fighting chance against anything that stood in your way and sealed the Kyuubi within you in the hope that you could master that power and use it to protect not just yourself, but those precious to you as well."

"I have no intention of harnessing that kind of power. I want to become strong through my own power rather than relying on the Kyuubi's chakra as some kind of crutch." Naruto said, sounding pretty angry after what he had just learned.

"Of course, Naruto-kun. For what it's worth...I'm truly sorry. I tried to keep the knowledge of you being the Kyuubi jinchuriki from getting out in order to protect you. But somehow the information got leaked and got lost in translation somehow. This means that somebody on the council revealed the truth about what you are to the village, despite orders against doing such a thing. If I knew who it was, I'd have them executed immediately. However, they've covered their tracks well and made it damn near impossible to figure out who it was. The village was never informed about Mito-sama or Kushina-chan being the Kyuubi jinchurikis before you, but for some reason, the whole village was informed about you being the new Kyuubi jinchuriki. If I had to fathom a guess, I'd say it was likely Danzo who revealed such information. Sadly, without proof, I can't do anything. That man is a slippery bastard and has always been a thorn in my side. If he could get away with it, he'd have me assassinated and he'd take the mantle of the Hokage for himself. He covets my position. He always has. But Tobirama-sensei saw a darkness inside of him and chose me to be the Third Hokage instead. It was a wise decision on his part."

Naruto nodded slowly in understanding. "I see. Thank you for informing me about this, Gramps. I agree that you should have revealed all of this to me much sooner, but I suppose I can understand where you were coming from." Sighing, he shook his head and said, "My mom sounds like an amazing person, from what little you've told me about her. I assume this is their house? It's been left for me, hasn't it?"

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, Naruto-kun. They left you this house to use as your own. And they left letters and an inheritance for you as well. Here." he said before unsealing the contents of a scroll, revealing a number of scrolls, a couple of letters, and a number of tri-pronged kunai. "This scroll here contains a large sum of money that they left for you. The rest is stored in the bank, only accessible to you and myself. I haven't used any of it, so your parents' account should have remained untouched. I'm sure you can make good use of it. The rest of these scrolls contain other items such as information on their unique taijutsu styles, the techniques they knew, and more. I'm sure you can become a force to be reckoned with, with all this information. But, I think the most important thing they left for you is all their notes on fuinjutsu. If you're anything like your parents, you'll be a true prodigy of the art and become one of the most dangerous fuinjutsu users the world has ever seen."

Looking at everything that had been left for him, he nodded slowly. "Alright. Thank you Gramps. Is there anything else I should know before I move my stuff in here?"

Hiruzen looked from Naruto to Samus for a moment before returning his gaze to Naruto. "I've decided that Miss Samus Aran is to live with you here in this house. It's the safest place for the both of you while you're within the village. Nobody can trespass on your property thanks to all the seals in place. The gate will automatically lock after you enter and exit the grounds, so nobody can ever break in. Even my student, Jiraiya, cannot break in here. And yes, I insist that Samus-san live with you here, Naruto-kun. I wouldn't put it past Danzo to try something once he learns of Samus-san's origin and where she comes from. I truly believe he's getting private information that's discussed in my office or elsewhere somehow, and he's not above using said information to try and have some kind of advantage over everyone and everything that stands in the way of his goals."

"This Danzo, do you think he's got your office bugged? Or maybe he's got someone that hides in your office and relays information to someone else, probably even Danzo himself?" Naruto questioned.

The Hokage sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea, Naruto-kun. What I _do_ know is that he's getting information he shouldn't and I wish I knew how so I could deal with the problem as soon as possible."

Samus frowned at this, not at all liking the possibility of such a corrupt individual knowing about her. "Would you like Naruto and me to scan your office for anything out of the ordinary? I think we might be able to find something, if we're lucky."

Hiruzen thought on it for a moment before nodding. "That would be fantastic. Anything we can do to stop the flow of information to Danzo would be for the best. If it helps any, be on the lookout for people that look like Anbu, but aren't. I ordered Danzo to disband his Root organization a long time ago, but I believe he's kept it running right under my nose. Root soldiers wear blank masks, rather than regular Anbu masks. Danzo has trained them to become emotionless, obedient soldiers that only listen to him. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's done something to ensure they don't spill any information on him or his activities to another party." he explained. "Danzo's always been a rotten bastard. He claims to be a patriot that does everything for the village, but he's really in it for himself and his interests. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's done some truly terrible things with his influence."

Sakura frowned at this and said, "It sounds like he's dangerous. If you know all of this about him, why haven't you acted against him?"

"Because he's covered his tracks too well. I'm highly suspicious that he's been involved in a few things that have happened here in the village, but without proof, I can't do anything. In fact, it's my belief that he had something to do with the Uchiha Massacre, but again, without proof, there's little I can do." Hiruzen explained, a scowl forming on his face.

"I wouldn't put it past him." Asuma said with a sigh. "We need some way to get evidence that he's been involved in certain problems within the village and elsewhere. If we can find some kind of evidence, then we can deal with him once and for all. He's as corrupt an individual as you can get. Evil and rotten to the core."

"Agreed." Hiruzen said. "Anyways, are you comfortable allowing Samus-san to live here with you, Naruto-kun? As I said before, it's the safest place for the both of you."

Naruto looked at Samus for a moment before he looked into Sakura's eyes. "Sakura-chan, are you okay with this? If you aren't, I'll try to find some other solution, but it sounds like this really is the safest place for her."

Sakura frowned as she looked between the Hokage and Samus. After taking some time to think on it, she finally nodded her head and said, "Yes, she can stay. I'm a little jealous, sure, but I understand the situation. I'm tempted to ask if I could live here with you, but I don't want to leave my mother on her own like that. So...I don't know what I'll do. Just promise me you two won't do anything like _that_ together."

Naruto chuckled a bit and shook his head. "I wouldn't do that to you, Sakura-chan. Thanks for being so understanding."

The green-eyed girl nodded slowly before she leaned in and kissed him. "Of course, sweetheart. And thank you."

Hiruzen smiled at his surrogate grandson and said, "Well, now that we've got all of that out of the way, I'll just be on my way. Take care of yourselves." And with that, he stood up and saw himself out after patting Naruto on the shoulder gently.

Asuma smiled at his students and said, "Sakura-chan? I'll escort you home. Naruto-kun, I'll be coming to pick you up in the morning with Sakura-chan. Samus-san, what do you plan to do now?"

The beautiful blonde woman shrugged her shoulders and said, "I think I'd like to stick around and help Naruto in any way that I can. I also need to inform him about the various alien species we're likely to encounter now that they've arrived on your planet. It's important that he knows about every potential threat we're likely to encounter out there. And I'd like to join your team. If you're being sent on many missions outside of the village, it will give me the chance to learn more about your world and what to expect now that I'm here. Besides that, we may just find some Chozo ruins that will provide a power-up of sorts for Naruto. I'll need him to become as strong as he can get so we can work together to protect the inhabitants of this world."

"Understandable. Alright, Sakura-chan and I will be off. Take care of yourselves, Naruto-kun, Samus-san. See you in the morning." Asuma said before leaving with his female student.

Once they were alone, Naruto looked at Samus for a moment before averting his gaze. "So...what do you think of the village so far, Samus-chan?"

Sitting down next to him on the couch, she looked at his inheritance before staring at him. "Honestly? So far, I'm not liking what I've heard or seen. On our walk through the village, I couldn't help but notice all the glares directed your way, and they weren't exactly quiet either. The things they said about you bothered me a great deal. So far, you've proven yourself to be an honorable, kind person. You're someone worthy of respect, but they're blinded by their hatred for something that's not your fault. I'm wondering if there's anyone here that sees you for what you are: a person."

"Besides my team, you mean?" Seeing her nod, Naruto sighed and shook his head. "I have few other friends, but they care for me, as I do them. But the majority of the people in this village see me as a demon and like to refer to me as such. Just recently, a girl named Ino Yamanaka spread the news that Sakura-chan and I were a couple and it's kind of incited a mild riot in the village. People tried to 'convince' her to stop seeing me, but that's really a light way of putting it. They physically assaulted her in their attempt to make her stop seeing me. Now, they're more focused on calling her the 'demon's whore' and claim I've used some kind of demon magic to seduce her. It's all very frustrating."

"Is it really so wrong for you and Sakura to be happy together? What is their problem?"

Sighing sadly, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I was the class idiot, so other people my age think she's pathetic for choosing to be with me. The adults, however, want to 'save' her from my wicked ways. I'm evil after all. I'm the 'demon'. I'm sure if my peers knew the truth about me and what I contain, they'd probably react the same way as the adults do."

Samus frowned and placed a gentle hand upon his shoulder. "That's a shame. I'm sorry you've had to deal with this. Is this why Asuma has to escort you two everywhere? And these C-rank missions that I've heard about, is that why your team is taking those, rather than doing missions here in the village?"

Naruto nodded in affirmation. "Yes, that's why he has to escort Sakura-chan and me everywhere. As for the C-rank missions? Well, we're taking those until the people have finally gotten over the fact that I'm dating. Once they finally settle down and leave it alone, things should return to normal. Hopefully."

"I see. I wish I knew of some way to help you out, but I'm simply a stranger to these people. I have a strong feeling that, once they find out I'm living with you, they'll likely try to convince me to find somewhere else to live. Right?"

"Sadly." Naruto said. "They're assholes that way."

"I've noticed. Anyways, I'll leave you to examine your inheritance. I'm going to take a shower and try to get some rest. It's late and I'm honestly kind of exhausted. So, good night Naruto." Patting him on the shoulder gently, she rose from the couch and walked off.

Once she was gone, Naruto couldn't help but blush a bit as images of Samus in the nude flashed through his brain. Smacking his cheeks, he tried to will the images away. _Oh Kami, living with a woman as beautiful as her is going to be hell on my libido._ He thought silently to himself before he decided to focus on examining his inheritance. _Okay Naruto, get rid of the bad thoughts and focus!_

 _ **The Next Day**_

Team 10 currently stood before the Hokage in his office, each of them wearing a deep frown. "Let me get this straight, Pops. A boy named Sai has been placed on Team 7 with Sasuke Uchiha and Choji Akimichi. You think Sai is a member of Danzo's Root forces, and you still allowed it?"

Hiruzen sighed and nodded his head. "I'm hoping that by allowing this to happen, Sai will slip up and I can finally get the evidence I need to act against Danzo. But…"

Asuma nodded as well and said, "Despite only being a team for a short while and clearly not being ready for it, Sasuke demanded a tougher mission and Kakashi agreed that they were ready for such a thing, most likely in an attempt to please the little asshole. Most likely, he's not taking training them very seriously and simply wants to cater to the Uchiha. And you allowed them to take on a C-rank mission, even knowing this?"

The Third Hokage sighed and nodded his head in the affirmative. "Yes. It was supposed to be a simple escort and protection mission with very little risk, but it seems the client lied about the difficulty of the mission. Kakashi has requested backup, and I have decided to send your team. When you rendevous with Team 7, I want you to take charge of the mission. Kakashi may be the senior Jonin, but I want _you_ in charge from this point forth, Asuma-kun. I've also decided to make Samus-san a member of your team under the guise of studying under you as an assistant Jonin sensei. I hope you don't encounter anymore of those Space Pirates or anything else dangerous, but that's always a possibility. Samus-san should be able to help no matter what the situation, but I still want you to be careful. Do you understand?"

The members of Team 10 each nodded to signify that they understood their orders. "Good. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but don't let that little brat of an Uchiha pressure you into giving into his demands or whatever the hell else he does. I give you permission to put him in his place if the situation calls for it. He needs to learn the cold hard truth that just because he's an Uchiha, that doesn't put him above everyone else. I'm tired of that little brat acting like he's more important to this village than anyone else. If he continues to push me, I'll have his chakra sealed and remove his damn eyes myself if he's somehow activated the Sharingan. They'd be better off given to someone else more worthy of them."

Glad to see his father acting like his old self again, Asuma gave him a salute before he turned to his team. "Pack for at least a month. This mission is likely going to be difficult, so I want you to be fully prepared for whatever is to come. Hurry, please. I'll meet you at the gates."

The Genin of Team 10 nodded once to signal that they understood before they quickly vacated the room to go and get packed. Once they had left, Samus asked, "I'm not going to like this Uchiha person, am I?"

Hiruzen shook his head and released a frustrated sigh. "No, you're really not. He's an insufferable brat that thinks the world owes him everything just because he's an Uchiha 'elite'. He's obsessed with growing stronger so he can kill his older brother, Itachi Uchiha, for wiping out the Uchiha clan in one night."

Asuma spoke up at this point. "He acts like he's the only one that's suffered loss in the world and harbors a deep hatred for pretty much everyone. I fully expect him to betray the village someday if it means he gets the chance to grow stronger faster."

Samus frowned deeply at this and shook her head in disbelief. "If I were you, Hokage, I'd do something about him before he does do something like that. He's obviously a loose cannon that should _never_ have been allowed to become a shinobi."

Hiruzen nodded his head in agreement. "I agree with you. However, people on the council have argued against me in his favor so many times by now, it would have a negative backlash if I had his chakra sealed or something without provocation. Unfortunately."

"I don't think that should matter. _You_ lead this village, therefore it's your choice whether or not to seal his powers before he can do any harm to the village or its people. Forget about the people that worship the ground he walks on and do the right thing. It's not that hard." Samus said, frowning deeply at him.

"She has a point, Pops. I think it's high time you step up and do the right thing, rather than the easy thing. You're gradually returning to the man we called the God of Shinobi, and that's good. But it's important that you take the next step and deal with the Uchiha before things spiral out of control." Asuma said, staring hard into his father's eyes in an attempt to get the point across to him.

Hiruzen closed his eyes and released a heavy sigh. "You might just be right about that. I'll do my best, but I make no guarantees. Knowing Danzo, he'll likely take any chance he can get to use the Uchiha against me in some way, especially if I act against Sasuke without provocation, as I said before. I'd need a damn good reason to seal his chakra and remove his eyes before I act against him. If he proves to be unstable enough on this mission, and continues to be a disrespectful little punk, that might just be enough of a reason for me to do something about him. I want you to keep an eye on him during this mission and give me a full report on your return. Do you understand?"

"Of course Pops. Now, if that is all, we'd best be off. I can't keep my team waiting forever, you know?"

Nodding his head in understanding, Hiruzen made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Of course. You'd best hurry. I don't trust Kakashi and Sasuke to be patient enough to wait for you. He seems to favor the Uchiha runt, after all, and if Sasuke wants to go on, that'll be that." he said with another heavy sigh.

"I don't see why you made a man like that a Jonin sensei if he's so unreliable." Samus said with a frown marring her beautiful features.

"It was an oversight on my part. I had hoped that teaching a squad of Genin would prove beneficial for not just him, but his students as well. It would seem I was wrong."

"Obviously." Samus said before releasing a sigh of her own. "We will see you later Hokage. Take care of yourself."

Once his son and Samus had left the office, Hiruzen sighed again and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I swear that Uchiha is going to give me a brain aneurysm or something."

 _ **A few days later**_

After convincing a boatman to take them across the water into the Land of Waves, the party ventured through the woods in search of Team 7. When they finally came across them, they weren't very surprised to see them in the middle of combat with a rather recognizable figure, at least to Asuma. Remaining hidden in the trees, he said, "That is Zabuza Momochi, one of the famed Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. This opponent is currently out of your league, but I think if you and Samus activated your Power Suits and attacked him, it might catch him off guard enough to take him down. Okay Naruto-kun, Samus-san?"

The two of them nodded and Naruto quickly donned his suit. Samus simply put her helmet back on and the two of them waited for the perfect moment to attack. Kakashi had been captured in a sphere of water and Zabuza was currently taunting the Genin of Team 7. Sasuke, being the hothead he is, charged to attack, only for Zabuza's water clone to kick him backwards, causing the Uchiha to tumble along the ground a ways.

Seeing that Zabuza's attention was focused solely on the members of Team 7, the two Power Suit users nodded at each other before Naruto took aim and fired upon the real Zabuza with a Charged Shot. As soon as he noticed this, Zabuza released his hold on the water sphere and jumped away to avoid the attack. He was even more shocked when the blast exploded upon hitting the ground, leaving a deep crater where it had hit.

"Who's there?!" Zabuza shouted, searching for his new foe. He wasn't prepared when a Wave Beam came flying at him from behind, striking him and causing him to scream out in pure agony. It wasn't enough to kill him, but his back would be injured for quite some time. The moment he spun around to see who had hit him, he quickly had to block as Asuma attacked him with his chakra blades. "Shit!" he exclaimed as he continuously blocked Asuma's attacks, only for his sword to receive a ton of deep scratches and gashes along the blade. _Damn it! He's pumping wind chakra through those blades of his! This has gone from bad to worse in under a freaking second!_

Suddenly Zabuza wasn't able to move, causing his eyes to widen in horror as he looked down to see his shadow connected to another. "Oh fuck me." he said before he received a deep gash along his chest and a number of projectiles strike him in the back, causing him to grunt in agony before slowly collapsing to his knees. "D-Damn it...I can't...d-die here…"

Before anyone could react, a kunai flew from the trees and pierced Zabuza through the throat, causing him to gasp and begin choking on his own blood. The kunai had cut off his airway and he could slowly feel his life leaving him "H-Haku…" he said quietly before he collapsed on his side, deceased.

Sakura came out from the trees and looked on in horror at what she had just done. Collapsing to her knees, she proceeded to vomit and let her tears pour down her face. Naruto quickly leapt down into the clearing and deactivated his Power Suit before he rushed over and began to comfort his girlfriend. "It's okay Sakura-chan, you didn't do anything wrong. I know it hurts right now and it's making you feel sick, believe me I know. When I killed Mizuki on accident, I felt so sick and wasn't sure what to do. It helped that Gramps was there for me. Sometimes...when it comes down to you having to weigh the life of an enemy over that of your comrades', the only choice you have is to take the life of your enemy. Sparing them will only allow them the chance to return at a later date to try and exact their vengeance upon you. Gramps told me that, and...and it helps somewhat. I'll admit that sometimes, when I think back to the time I killed Mizuki, I still feel sick. I know it'll eventually pass, but it's still troubling. So get it all out of your system, sweetheart. Let it all out and just know that we're here for you, okay?"

The pinkette slowly nodded before offering him a shaky smile. "T-Thanks Naru-kun. That really helps. I still feel sick though. I know he was our opponent and he would have killed all of us if given the chance, but…"

"It still hurts, having to take a life like that. I know." Naruto said before looking at Zabuza's body. "He said someone's name as he passed away. Any ideas, Asuma-sensei?"

Asuma stared at Zabuza's body for a moment before he severed his head and sealed it away in a scroll so they could cash in his bounty later. Afterwards, he burned the body before turning to Naruto and Sakura and shaking his head. "Most likely it's the name of an accomplice of his. I'm guessing it's someone he cared about. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. If it _is_ his accomplice, I wouldn't be surprised if he or she comes after us for revenge soon enough. We'd best be prepared and keep an eye out for the entirety of this mission. There's no telling when this Haku might strike."

"Agreed." Shikamaru said as he walked into the clearing. "How are Kakashi-san and Sasuke?"

"We're fine." Kakashi said as he walked up to the group. "I'm impressed. Your team handled that most effectively. Zabuza never had the chance to counter your attacks. How did you do that?" he questioned, sounding slightly suspicious.

Asuma narrowed his eyes on Kakashi and shook his head. "I'm afraid that's on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know. Also, Pops has placed me in charge of this mission from now on. So I want everyone to round up and we'll set out. I'd like to reach our client's house before we have to deal with anymore surprises. Let's go!"

As both teams set out, following after Tazuna, Kakashi couldn't help but narrow his eye at Asuma's back. _This was_ my _mission. What the heck is Hokage-sama thinking, putting him in charge?_ It was easy enough for anyone to tell that he was quite unhappy with how things had turned out. Only time would tell how this mission would play out from this point forward.

* * *

 **A/N - And that's the chapter! A bunch of things happened this chapter, and I think it turned out pretty darn well.**

 **As you can see, Samus has been introduced and Naruto is quite enamored with her beauty. She's also living with Naruto now, which should be a pretty interesting experience. Naruto has also been told about his parents and has been given his inheritance, so expect to see more stuff about that in future chapters.**

 **Anyways, I have one hell of a headache right now, so I'm going to end this here. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I dunno what's next, sooo...yay? lol**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - Alrighty, I decided I'd do a chapter for this story, as you can see! I've updated a bunch of my other fics and decided it was time to update this one. Sooo...yay! lol**

 **Anyways, a lot happens in this chapter. Things get kind of insane, and the end of the chapter is a cliffhanger. I love those cliffhangers. lol.**

 **Anywho, I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Conflict**

Kakashi eyed the medallion hanging from Naruto's neck. They had recently reached Tazuna's house and, after ensuring that the surrounding area was safe, they went inside and decided to hold a strategy meeting of sorts. However, rather than focus on the meeting, Kakashi couldn't stop looking at the strange medallion around Naruto's neck. _I can sense a strange power coming from that thing. I wonder…_

Naruto, easily noticing what Kakashi was looking at, tucked the medallion away under his shirt. Narrowing his eyes at the cycloptic jonin, he said, "Don't get any ideas. This was given to me and I'm not going to just hand it over to you, Sasuke, or anyone else."

Frowning beneath his mask, Kakashi said, "It's a strange medallion. If I'm correct, it's special, isn't it? In fact, I'm willing to bet that that medallion is the source of that power you used earlier to ambush Zabuza. Am I right?"

Scowling at Kakashi, Naruto said, "Like I said, don't get any ideas. You, Sasuke, and anyone else that might be interested can forget it. Even if you're right about it, it's attuned to me. Nobody else can use it, let alone wear the medallion. So again, don't get any ideas."

Narrowing his one, visible eye, Kakashi held out his hand, palm up, and said, "Hand it over, Naruto. If it really does possess such power, it belongs in the hands of someone that can use that power responsibly. That person is _not_ you."

Before Naruto could lunge at Kakashi and attack him, Samus placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder and shook her head at him. "Don't bother. He's an asshole and isn't worth your time. Come on, let's go help Tsunami in the kitchen and leave these assholes to themselves." she said before taking his hand and helping him up off the couch.

When the two Power Suit wielders left the room, Asuma looked at Kakashi with a scowl on his face. "What the hell is wrong with you?! That medallion is a tool unique to Naruto and you want to take that away from him?! Let me guess, the 'responsible' one you're talking about is that little shit over there, isn't it?!" he shouted, pointing at Sasuke. "Like Naruto said, only he can use it. It's useless to you and the Uchiha runt. How dare you attempt to take something so precious to him away like that?!"

Kakashi stared into Asuma's eyes for a moment before offering him an eye-smile. "Naruto was the dead last in the academy. He's played a number of pranks on the villagers before as well. He's immature, weak, and generally all around an inferior shinobi. I'm amazed Hokage-sama even allowed him to become a genin in the first place with such pitiful skills. Sasuke, on the other hand? Top of his class and hailed as a prodigy like Itachi and I were. Even like sensei. Sasuke's skilled and he's vastly superior to someone like Naruto. If anyone can make _proper_ use of a weapon like that, it would be him, and him alone. Now, do try to convince your student to hand it over like a good boy. He isn't worthy of possessing that kind of power."

Asuma glared at Kakashi, but rather than say anything, he took a moment to think on it. After a little while, he let a smirk cross his face before erupting into a fit of laughter. When he calmed down, he looked from Kakashi to Sasuke. "You really think Sasuke, Itachi's runt of a brother, could wield such a power _responsibly_? Look at him, he looks like he could barely manage to put one foot in front of the other. Top grades in the academy, huh? Did Pops ever tell you that those tests were rigged? Sasuke, the so-called 'prodigy', got perfect grades on every one of his tests because the teachers took pity on him. After all, his brother, the very definition of what a prodigy is, killed all of the Uchiha, only sparing Sasuke on a whim. Then again, I suppose Itachi felt that killing his brother was unnecessary. He's too _pathetic_ to amount to anything great and Itachi knew it. The villagers have pampered him and spoiled him rotten, leaving him to be the _true_ weakling of his graduating class. Let me guess, he hasn't even awakened his precious Sharingan yet? For shame."

Sasuke snarled and leapt at Asuma, but before he could reach him, he ended up freezing in midair and slammed into the floor hard as a result of the sudden stop in momentum. "You _do_ realize that by attacking a superior officer you've committed an act of insubordination and assault of a superior officer. You can and _will_ be punished for your actions. But you don't care, do you Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked as he held Sasuke in place. When Sasuke began to struggle, Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. "I can do this all day, Sasuke, until you calm down and behave like a good little princess."

Hearing this, Sasuke screamed in frustration and shouted out, "I don't give a damn if I attacked him! He brought it on himself for daring to treat his superior in such a way! I am an elite! One of the very best Konoha has to offer! You're all beneath me and should beg for my forgiveness!"

Sakura scowled and walked up to him before staring him in the eyes calmly. After a while, she said, "I can't believe I ever thought you were cool. Why did I even like you in the first place? You're a terrible person with a rotten attitude. It's no wonder you're alone all the time. You're abrasive, you're rude, and you're an asshole. Tch, I don't know what anyone could possibly see in you." she said before slamming her fist into the top of his head, sending him crashing to the floor in a heap. "Stay down and be a good doggie. Maybe if you behave, you'll get a treat. If not, well, you'll just have to sleep outside tonight, now won't you?"

Sasuke was snarling, furious as hell with Team 10 for treating him like this. However, rather than say anything, he shot a glance at his sensei. Kakashi, getting the message, stood up and approached Sakura. Before he could reach her, however, Asuma reached out and gripped his wrist _hard_. "And what do you think you're doing, Kakashi?"

Kakashi looked at Asuma for a moment before turning his gaze to Shikamaru. "Let him go, Shikamaru. He won't do anything, will you Sasuke?"

Sasuke glared into Kakashi's eye and said, "If they aren't punished when we get back to Konoha, you can bet _I'll_ take care of them _properly_. They _will_ pay for this embarrassment!"

Kakashi sighed and shook his head in mild disbelief. "Sasuke, you're only making things worse for yourself. Humble up for the time being and apologize. You can't just go around threatening your fellow Konoha shinobi like this."

The young Uchiha smirked evilly at this and said, "Oh, it's not a threat. It's a _promise_."

Sighing again, Kakashi proceeded to knock Sasuke out before looking at Shikamaru. "Mind releasing him?"

The Nara heir released Sasuke from his Shadow Imitation Technique and looked at Kakashi. "This was a test, and the two of you failed it miserably. Teach him some humility and instill in him the values of teamwork. He needs to understand why he _shouldn't_ assault his fellow shinobi of Konoha. Unless he learns some restraint, he's going to be considered a flight risk and be suspended from the shinobi corps. upon our return to Konoha. You know it as well as we do."

Before Kakashi could reply, Asuma said, "He's right, Kakashi. You need to correct your genin's behavior. Right now, he's unstable and dangerous. He's already proven that he is a danger to his allies if he's so willing to lash out at them for even the slightest of insults. Like he said, this was a test and you two failed it. Probably the first test he's ever failed, and he's not going to like the price of failure."

The silver-haired jonin sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "Very well. I've clearly failed in my role as a sensei to my students. I've neglected Choji and Sai in favor of Sasuke, and I never instilled the value of friendship and teamwork in him. I'll try to do better, but…" Sighing again, he closed his eye and shook his head. "I don't want to lose another teammate. Ino was removed from the team because of her actions. I don't want to lose Sasuke as well. So…"

Knowing what Kakashi was about to suggest, Asuma narrowed his eyes at him and said, "No. We can't just shrug this off and pretend it didn't happen. I'll be informing Hokage-sama about what happened here and it'll be up to him to decide the punishment for the both of you."

Kakashi looked visibly upset by this, but decided to simply take Sasuke up to the room Tsunami had picked out for them. Once he was gone, Asuma looked at Choji and Sai. "Has he trained you two in anything? Or has he completely neglected you two?"

Choji sighed and shook his head. "Kakashi hasn't trained us in anything but teamwork. He's been focused entirely on Sasuke. After all, Sasuke's the 'most skilled' person on the team and needs the most attention. It's just more favoritism for the jerk. I wish I could've been on a team with you, Shika."

Shikamaru patted his friend on the back and said, "I'm sorry things didn't work out that way, Choji. Being on a team with Sasuke was bad enough, but having a sensei that doesn't really act like a sensei is just terrible. I don't know what I can do to help…"

Choji shook his head again. "It's alright. Though…" Looking at Sai, he frowned in thought for a moment before saying, "Sai...is 'different'. He insults people all the time, he's socially awkward, stuff like that. But...he's skilled. Really good at what he does. I feel like the weak link in the team. I want to receive some true training and become a force to be reckoned with, but…"

Asuma frowned and walked over to Choji, placing a gentle hand upon his shoulder. "While we're here, I'll train you as hard as I can. If Kakashi won't take care of you, _I_ will. I'll also talk to my old man about this and see what he can do to help you out."

Choji nodded in thanks before turning to look at Sai. "What about you, Sai?"

Sai simply smiled and said, "I'm fine with how things are Skinny. I've been trained quite thoroughly already, so I have no worries."

Asuma narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Sai, but decided to let the matter drop. He decided that he would talk with his father about his suspicions later. For now, he wanted to focus on Choji and his own genin, leaving the other members of Team 7 to their own devices.

After some time, Tsunami called everyone for dinner. The dinner she and her two helpers had prepared looked delicious, though Asuma couldn't help but wonder something. "Tsunami-san, if you don't mind my asking, how can you afford to prepare such a delectable meal for us? This can't be easy for you and your family…"

Tsunami simply smiled and said, "It's the least I can do for the kind ninja that are protecting my father. Please, don't mind our situation. I'll do what I can to make your stay here more comfortable. Now please, eat up!"

Naruto smiled at the kindhearted woman and said, "I'll do what I can to get you and your family some necessary food items during our stay here. I don't want to be a burden on you, Tsunami-san."

The blue-haired mother shook her head and offered him a warm smile. "Please, don't worry about it Naruto-kun. Just promise me that you'll keep my father safe and I'll consider that payment enough."

Naruto nodded and said, "Of course Tsunami-san. We'll take good care of him, you, and your son. We've already dealt with a few major threats to Tazuna-san's life, including Zabuza of Kirigakure. Though, it would seem he had an accomplice. I don't know what to expect from this person, but if he/she cared about Zabuza, I have a feeling they'll be after us for killing him. I don't mean to worry you, but I wanted to be upfront and honest about what's going on."

Seeing Tsunami's reaction to what Naruto had just said, Asuma spoke up. "Do not worry, Tsunami-san. We'll find where Gato is and end him before he can attempt anything else. As for this Haku, as Zabuza called him/her, we'll just have to wait and see what they do."

Before Tsunami could say anything, Tazuna said, "Tsunami, don't worry about it too much. These super ninja can pull this off, no problem! You should've seen 'em in action. It was great!"

Tsunami sighed and shook her head in disbelief. However, she chose to remain quiet and simply went about serving food to everyone before she began to eat herself. It was obvious to everyone that she was still worried about her father's safety and the wellbeing of the people living in the Land of Waves.

 _ **Haku**_

Haku was pacing around the temporary hideout that she and Zabuza had been using during their stay in the Land of Waves. She was desperately trying to think of something she could do to get revenge on those blasted Konoha ninja that had taken away her reason for living. _Damn them! I'll...I'll_ kill _them!_

It was at this point that a most unwelcome guest made an appearance with his two favorite bodyguards, Waraji and Zori standing on either side of him. Looking around the room, he soon shook his head in disappointment. "I see your master wasn't up to the challenge. For all the money I had promised the two of you, I expected better. Oh well, I suppose." he said before eyeing Haku up and down appreciatively.

After a moment, he snapped his fingers and Zori handed him a few slips of paper. Waving it in the air before Haku, he smirked sinisterly at her. "As per the contract, I'll take care of you now. You'll make a good slave." he said, licking his lips in anticipation at the thought of breaking her in.

Haku narrowed her eyes at him and said, "We never agreed that I'd join you. Zabuza-sama would **never** have agreed to something like that!"

Gato chuckled darkly before waving the contract in front of her face. "Oh, but he did. You two should have read the fine print. In the event of his passing, you would be given to me to become my personal pleasure slave. Now, do be a good girl and get on your knees. I'm going to enjoy breaking you in."

Glaring daggers at Gato, Haku decided she had had enough of this man. In an instant, she had subdued Waraji and Zori, crippling them in the process. Then, before Gato could react in any way, she stabbed a kunai into his skull repeatedly until he finally collapsed dead on the ground. Looking at the samurai, she proceeded to sever their heads from their bodies.

Once she had finished, Haku dropped her kunai and looked at her now bloodied hands. Hurrying to the bathroom, she vomited into the toilet as tears ran down her cheeks. When she finished, she proceeded to wash her hands and face before she curled up in a corner, sobbing uncontrollably. _I...I killed them. I never wanted to kill anyone again! Zabuza-sama…_

 _ **The Next Day**_

Loud knocking could be heard at the front door of Tazuna's house. It was frantic, almost desperate, and it quickly got the attention of everyone residing in the residence. Asuma, motioning for Tazuna and his family to hide, slowly opened the door with a kunai poised to strike whomever may be beyond the door.

When the door finally opened, a nameless male villager looked at him in a panic. "T-Tazuna...Tazuna...I…"

Tazuna, recognizing the man as one of his workers, stepped out from hiding and looked him square in the eyes. "What is it man? Get a hold of yourself! Tell me what's got you so spooked."

"Y-Y-You...you need to come see! It's Gato!"

Tazuna's eyes widened in horror and he asked quickly, "What the hell happened?! Is everyone okay?!"

"Y-You need to come see this for yourself! I...I can't even put it into words! It's...he's...Kami, just come see!" his worker exclaimed before he turned around and ran off.

Tazuna scowled and exited his house before looking at the group of shinobi in his house. "Can a few of you please stay and watch after my family? I'm worried about what might be happening."

"I'll stay behind and keep them safe." Samus said before looking at Naruto. "Go with him and see what has happened."

Naruto nodded before he and the others followed Tazuna into town. Once they were gone, Tsunami's child, a young boy named Inari, looked up at his mother and asked, "What's going on, Mom? Did something bad happen?"

Tsunami held him close to her and shook her head. "I don't know, sweetheart. I honestly do not know."

"Will grandpa be okay?"

Tsunami nodded and smiled down at her son. "Grandpa will be just fine. He's got a bunch of ninja with him. They'll keep him as safe as can be."

"Good." Inari said quietly as he looked at the front door. _Please let everything be okay…_

 _ **Town Square**_

As Tazuna and the other caught up to the nameless worker, he looked at the man and asked, "So what the hell's going on? Where's the fire?"

The worker simply pointed up, but didn't say a thing. When Tazuna and the others looked in the direction he was pointing, their eyes widened. Hanging suspended in the air were Gato and his two bodyguards, the samurai Waraji and Zori. Well, their heads were. Gato's body had been mutilated and was barely recognizable. Looking around, they saw the bodies of all of Gato's goons scattered about the area, every one of them deceased.

Looking around, Tazuna was unable to formulate words for a while. When he finally gathered himself, he asked, "How? Who? What? How did this happen?!"

Asuma shook his head and said, "With him gone, you're in significantly less danger. Most likely, you can build your bridge in peace now. And if I had to guess, I'd say this was done by Zabuza's accomplice. Without Zabuza, it would seem this accomplice of his has snapped and is lashing out. I'm not sure what we can expect from this person, but it's obvious they're highly skilled and they are _angry_."

Tazuna felt a cold chill shoot up and down his spine. "If...if this person is truly so dangerous, how do we know he/she won't try to complete the job to kill me?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "I highly doubt you're in any danger from this individual, Tazuna-san. The source of their paycheck is dead. There's no more reason to take your life. No, if I had to guess, this was done as a message to us. This person is _angry_ and they're going to try and take the lives of the ones responsible for Zabuza's death. Regardless, our mission is to protect you while you build your bridge. We'll keep you safe from any and all threats. But we'll need to watch our backs as well."

Sakura looked visibly worried and clung to her boyfriend. "I'm...I'm the one who killed him. His...his partner is going to be after me...isn't he? Or she? Either way, I'm in big trouble, aren't I?"

Asuma looked at her and shook his head. "We all are, Sakura. Without Zabuza, this person's on a downward spiral and there's no telling just how dangerous this individual is. We're going to up our training and prepare ourselves for a confrontation with this person. As I said earlier, this person is highly skilled to have killed so many people so quickly. Nobody wanders around alone. Everyone needs to make sure they're always in groups of 2 - 3 people. Understood?"

"Right, sensei! I hope we're just being paranoid, but…"

Asuma sighed and shook his head. "Paranoia comes with the job. It's part of what keeps us alive." Looking around at the others, he thought over everything they knew at this point before shaking his head. "Just...stay together. Don't ever let yourselves be caught on your own."

Sasuke scoffed and said, "I'm not afraid of some phantom. Whoever it is, they are no match for an elite like me. You're just afraid of nothing. Tch, how pathetic."

Naruto walked up behind Sasuke and slugged him hard in the back of the head, causing him to lurch forward and wince in pain. Rubbing the spot he had been punched, he quickly turned to face his assailant. "Dammit dobe! What the hell was that for?!"

The blonde prepared to slug Sasuke again before Kakashi grabbed his arm, stopping him in mid-swing. Glaring at the cycloptic jonin, he pried his arm away from him before looking into Sasuke's eyes. "Curb your damn ego for a change and listen to what people are saying! You're NOT an elite! You're just a pathetic little boy that thinks he's a man. Whoever this person is, he/she is _dangerous_. It's better to err on the side of caution right now! Do you _really_ want to die?!"

The 'last Uchiha' scoffed at him before saying, "Nobody can kill me, dobe. I still have to kill Itachi for what he's done. I'm the only one who can do it, so it's impossible for me to die until I've achieved my ambition."

Naruto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You really are delusional. Fine Sasuke, if you want to die so badly, wander off on your own. Nobody's really going to miss you. After all, you're a terrible person and you haven't treated ANYONE kindly. You're spoiled rotten and you're stupid as can be. If you get yourself killed, I honestly won't give a shit." he said before taking Sakura's hand and walking off with her.

Sasuke glared at Naruto's back as he walked away. "Fucking dobe. He still shows me disrespect. Nothing can kill me!"

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "Troublesome. Go ahead and wander around alone then. See what happens when you try to hold your own against this mystery ninja. Good luck." he said before walking off with Choji.

Before Sasuke could say anything else, Kakashi patted him lightly on the head and offered him an eye-smile. "Don't let it get to you, Sasuke. You'll be just fine. Still, just to be safe, I want you to always take someone with you if you want to train, go into town, whatever. Understand?"

Shrugging his sensei off, Sasuke said, "Whatever." before walking off by himself. _I don't need anyone else. They'll just slow me down. I must get stronger so I can kill that monster! If that means I need to take this stranger down, then I'll do it gladly._

Kakashi narrowed his visible eye before looking at Asuma. "What do we do? Sasuke's stubborn as hell and if he continues on like this, he'll die. Any ideas?"

Asuma scowled a Sasuke's attitude before looking at Kakashi. "I suggest that you follow him discreetly. He may not want the help, but we can't just leave him alone. Take Sai with you. Once I've escorted Tazuna back to his home, I'll pair up with Samus so we can look around for this mystery accomplice of Zabuza's."

Team 7's sensei nodded before turning and motioning for Sai to follow him. Setting off after Sasuke, they frowned when they didn't see him anywhere. "Where could he have gone? He can't have gotten away so quickly, could he have?" Kakashi wondered aloud. "We only looked away from him for a short while."

Sai frowned slightly and looked around. "He's doing whatever he can to avoid us. Sasuke believes himself to be superior to everyone around him. It's highly likely that he went off to search for Zabuza's accomplice by himself."

Kakashi scowled behind his mask and said, "He's being an idiot! Sasuke's NOT invincible! We need to find him. NOW!"

Sai nodded in agreement before he and Kakashi began their search for the so-called 'avenger'. When they _did_ find him, they were horrified to see what had become of him. He was found in an alley, his body riddled with stab wounds and his eyes had been removed. Collapsing to his knees, Kakashi lifted Sasuke into his arms and gritted his teeth. "You...you stupid fool! Why? Why couldn't you listen just this once?!"

Sai stepped up next to him and looked at Sasuke's body. "The people will not like this."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "You're absolutely right. They practically worshipped him back in Konoha. What makes it worse is that there's a good chance they'll take it out on Naruto. After all, if he returns from this mission alive and well, but Sasuke doesn't...they'll likely blame him, regardless of the truth."

Sai frowned at this and said, "If that is the case, then Hokage-sama should do something about it. Perhaps a public announcement of some kind might work?"

"Who knows?" Kakashi said as he stood up with Sasuke's corpse in his arms. "Let's return to Tazuna's house. We need to figure out what to do about his body."

Sai simply nodded as he looked around the immediate area. "We need to figure out what to do about our opponent."

Kakashi nodded in agreement before he left the alley with Sai alongside him. "Whoever it is, they _will_ pay for this."

 _ **Later - Tazuna's House**_

When Kakashi and Sai entered the house, carrying Sasuke's limp body, everyone was shocked. Tsunami, who had been carrying a few plates of food at the time, dropped the plates, ignoring the sound of her dishes breaking and the fact that food had just been dumped on the floor. Covering her mouth with her hands, she let out a horrified gasp and asked, "What happened out there? This...this is horrible!"

Kakashi sadly shook his head and laid Sasuke on the couch. "He...he foolishly went off on his own. Our opponent took advantage of that and...and this is the result."

Samus frowned and shook her head in disbelief. "From what I understand about him, Sasuke was arrogant and had quite the ego on him. He believed himself to be better than all those around him. I hate to say it, but he's paid the price for his arrogance. Yes, it's sad, and it will hurt for a while, but…"

Kakashi looked like he wanted to snap at her, but Asuma placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Calm yourself, Kakashi. She doesn't mean anything bad by what she said. All she spoke was the truth. Sasuke is dead because of his attitude. If you want to blame someone for his death, blame yourself for not doing whatever it took to curb his attitude and teach him some damn humility. You _knew_ how bad his mindset was and you ignored it in favor of pampering him. Why? Don't feed me that bullcrap about wanting to respect Obito's memory either, because you know as well as I do that that's bullcrap."

The cycloptic jonin shook his head and released a heavy sigh. "Believe what you want." he said before pulling out a storage scroll and sealed Sasuke's body away so it wouldn't start decomposing during their stay here. "I'm going to find his killer and make them pay. Sasuke had so much potential to be something great. He didn't deserve this!"

Asuma sighed, but nodded his head reluctantly in agreement with that statement. "Yes, Sasuke had potential, but you kept him weak with your babying of him. I won't repeat myself, but just know that his death is on you." he said before he went to help Tsunami clean up the mess she had accidentally created.

After a short while, they all realized something and their eyes widened. "Where are Sakura and Naruto?" Sai asked.

Samus scowled and said, "I'll go look for them. Hopefully nothing has happened to them."

Asuma nodded before he shot out the door to aid Samus in her search. Once they were gone, Kakashi scowled behind his mask and thought, _If only Naruto had handed over that strange medallion…_

 _ **Naruto & Sakura**_

For the past hour, the happy couple had been training together in the forest surrounding Tazuna's house. They wanted to work the stress out of their systems and unwind a bit, so they decided on this course of action to work the negative energy out of their bodies. After a while of this, they sat against a tree together, holding hands as they talked about whatever came to mind. However, after a while of this, they both sensed it. They were being watched.

"Naruto-kun, what do we do?" Sakura asked nervously.

Naruto frowned and tried to pinpoint their enemy's location. "Just stay behind me sweetheart. I'm going to use 'it' and do what I can to protect you."

Sakura looked worriedly at him for a moment before she realized what he was talking about. Smiling at him, she stood up with him and watched as he activated his medallion, donning his Power Suit. "Do you see him/her?"

Naruto was looking around with his scan visor, trying to figure out exactly where their observer was located. Upon spotting something hidden in one of the trees, he deactivated the scan visor and pointed his arm cannon at their potential enemy. "I'm giving you this one chance to surrender. Failure to do so will result in a painful end. Now show yourself!"

Haku watched him carefully for a moment, trying to figure out what this sudden transformation meant for her. Deciding on a course of action, she tried to sneak up on him, only to see him readjust his aim so he was always aiming right at her. Not wanting to risk it, she hopped down into the clearing and glared at him. "You took Zabuza-sama from me. I...I have no purpose now! I don't care what it takes, I'll…!"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "I am truly sorry for your loss. I can only imagine how painful it must be. But you _do_ have a purpose! You should live on in memory of Zabuza. Do what you can to make him proud. Trying to get revenge…" Sighing again, Naruto looked calmly at her and said, "Have you ever heard the saying, "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind."? Like I said, I don't know how it feels, but I know Zabuza would have wanted you to live your life to its fullest. When...when he died, he was thinking only of you. You're Haku, right? I believe that he truly cared for you and wouldn't want you to throw away your life in the pursuit of revenge. Besides that, there's no way I will _ever_ let you harm Sakura-chan or any of the people I care about. If...if you refuse to back down, I will have no choice but to kill you. I don't want to do that if it isn't necessary."

Sakura looked into Haku's eyes and asked, "Wasn't it you who killed Gato and his men? Just that one action makes you a hero to the people of this country! Z-Zabuza...I don't think he'd want you to waste your life in the pursuit of revenge. It was obvious that he loved you as if you were a member of his family. Please…"

Haku glanced away and sighed heavily. "I've already killed one of your teammates. There's no going back for me now."

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened and they began to shake. "W-Who? Who did you kill?" Naruto asked, terrified of the possibilities.

"She killed Sasuke." Asuma's voice could be heard saying as he dropped into the clearing, looking calmly at their potential enemy.

Sakura's eyes widened and she asked, "Sasuke's dead?! That's...that's really bad, Asuma-sensei! The people of Konoha practically worshipped him!"

Haku blinked a couple of times at this before asking, "They did? Why? He was obviously full of himself, and he looked down on everyone. Even as we fought, he truly believed himself to be superior to me, simply because he was an Uchiha 'elite'. And the way he acted when around all of you was just as bad. What made him so special in the eyes of your village's people?"

Asuma sighed and shook his head. "He was the 'last loyal Uchiha'. My guess is that they felt that if they gave him whatever he wanted, he would pay them back someday when he achieved his goal. Hell, they probably would have made him Hokage someday just to please him. They were delusional, really."

Before Haku could reply in any way, Naruto took a step forward and looked her in the eyes. "Haku...I'd rather not kill you if we can help it. Yes, you killed Sasuke, but...I don't think you deserve to die. If you feel like you no longer have a purpose, then I'll give you one. Live on for Zabuza and do whatever you can to make him proud. I'd say you could return with us to Konoha, but I'm not sure if that's for the best or not…"

Haku blinked as she looked at Naruto with wide eyes. "A...purpose? You can give me...a purpose?" After thinking it over, she shook her head and said, "I can't live without Zabuza-sama, but…" Haku glanced away for a moment as she thought it over. When she finally came to a decision, she walked up to Naruto and kneeled down, bowing to him. "Please, allow me to serve you Naruto-sama!"

Sakura felt a tick mark appear on her forehead and smiled sweetly at her. "If he agrees to this, then you'd better promise me something. Don't you dare try to steal him from me. Understand?"

The ice-user felt a cold chill go down her spine and quickly nodded in understanding. "O-Of course!"

Naruto sighed as he shook his head in disbelief. "I meant that you should live for Zabuza, not for me. But…"

Before Naruto could finish speaking, they heard a rather loud screeching sound coming closer. When they turned, they saw Kakashi rushing up with his hand covered in electricity. Their eyes widened as he got closer and closer to Haku. Before anyone knew it, Naruto had leapt in the way of Kakashi's attack, taking the blow through his chest. Coughing up blood, he gripped Kakashi's wrist and pulled his hand from his body.

Seeing her boyfriend fall to his knees and coughing up even more blood, Sakura screamed in horror. When she stopped, she went to her boyfriend and kneeled down next to him, trying to figure out what to do to help him.

Haku's eyes widened at Naruto's selfless act. "N-Not again…" she said quietly. "Naruto-sama…"

Asuma was horrified by what he was seeing. Glaring at Kakashi, he shouted, "What the hell were you thinking?! Look at what happened because of you!"

Kakashi focused a glare on Haku and snarled out, "She killed Sasuke! All I wanted was to make her pay for it! He deserves to be avenged, and she deserves to die for what she's done! He should never have jumped in the way of my attack!"

Naruto looked Kakashi in the eyes and said quietly, "Revenge...isn't the answer. She...she doesn't...seem e-evil...to me. M-Maybe not now...but I hope...you can forgive her...someday. She's...as hurt as you are. Z-Zabuza...was everything to her. Haku is just misguided...she's hurting, just as y-you are…"

Kakashi growled out, "Who cares if she's hurting?! Zabuza was an enemy and he got what he deserved! Sasuke had so much potential! He would have been great!" Glaring at Naruto, he reached out for Naruto's medallion, but Naruto gripped his wrist tightly, causing him to wince slightly. "If only you had given him that weapon of yours! He would never have died like that!"

Despite how much pain he was in, Naruto still had enough strength to slam a fist into Kakashi's face, knocking him on his ass. "This...is _mine_! It won't recognize...another person as its owner. Sasuke...could _never_ have used it. So how _dare_ you t-try and take it from me?!"

Sitting up, Kakashi glared at Naruto and reached out, ripping the medallion from Naruto's neck. "I'm confiscating this from you! You're not worthy of it!"

Haku growled and quickly knocked Kakashi out before returning Naruto's medallion to him. "It's a miracle you're still conscious, Naruto-sama. Will...will you be okay?" she questioned as she looked over his wound. She saw it slowly closing and the blood stop flowing from the hole in his chest. _Could he be…?_

Sakura simply held her boyfriend, sobbing into his shoulder. She didn't care that she had his blood on her outfit. All she wanted was to be there for her boyfriend and help him however she could.

Asuma looked at Naruto for a while before seeing that he was no longer conscious. Kneeling down, he took a look at Naruto's wound and shook his head in disbelief. "Anyone else would be dead by now. Naruto, you got lucky he missed your heart or even you would have died."

Haku looked from Naruto to Asuma and asked, "Is he a jinchuriki?"

Sakura and Asuma both flinched at the question before Asuma reluctantly nodded in confirmation. "Yes. Naruto is the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi."

Eyes widening, Haku looked at the young man she had pledged her life to. "I see. He's...not treated well, is he?"

Sakura nodded and said sadly, "He's treated horribly in our village. Hell, when the people found out that we became a couple, they tried to 'save me' from the 'demon'. It's...well, it's been bad. We have to be escorted everywhere by Asuma-sensei or somebody else just to make sure we aren't attacked. I don't know when it will end."

Asuma sighed and shook his head as he knelt down and lifted Naruto onto his back. "If they could see past their own hatred, they'd realize he's just a mistreated, kindhearted kid. He's allowed to be happy, just as anyone else does."

Sakura watched as Asuma began walking back towards Tazuna's house with Naruto on his back. Looking at Kakashi, she sighed and lifted him onto her back with a bit of effort before practically dragging him along after Asuma and her boyfriend. _You'll be okay, Naruto-kun. I wish I had some training in how to be a medic-nin. I want to be strong for you…_

Haku followed them, seeming a bit nervous about being around the others. She wasn't sure how they would react to her presence, but she wanted to be near her new master.

 _ **Tazuna's House**_

Shikamaru frowned as he saw the condition his teammate was in. "Was this the work of the enemy…?" he asked Asuma.

Haku scowled and shook her head. "No, I didn't do this to him. This was done by your friend, Kakashi Hatake. He was trying to kill me when Naruto-sama protected me."

Choji looked at the still healing wound delivered to Naruto and shook his head. "How the heck is he still alive with a hole through his chest?!"

Asuma frowned and shook his head. "I'm afraid it's his secret to keep. If you want to know, you're welcome to ask him about it later. Right now, however, we need to let him rest. As for Kakashi, we need to figure out how to keep him from attacking Haku again once he wakes up."

"Well, you might want to figure something out soon. He's waking up." Haku said as she watched the silver-haired jonin slowly coming to.

Sakura glared at Kakashi and watched as he opened his eye. When he noticed Haku and tried to sit up, the pinkette shoved him back down and said, "Don't you dare! You've already done enough damage! My boyfriend almost died because of you!"

Kakashi glared at her and said, "Sasuke wouldn't be dead if he had just handed over that damn medallion! Your 'boyfriend' is a selfish asshole!"

Haku shook her head in disappointment. "Power without the knowledge of how to use it is the same as having no power at all. The Uchiha would have perished either way and I'm sure you know that deep down. Then again, you are the man who has apparently copied 1000 techniques. I believe that's an exaggeration, but the point stands that there's no way you know how to use all of those techniques properly. As I said, power without knowledge is dangerous."

The cycloptic jonin scoffed at this and forced Sakura off of him before standing up. "You don't know anything. You're just Zabuza's little whore. I'm amazed he even let you live instead of dumping you on the side of the road somewhere. Weak bitch."

"At least she's better than you." Naruto was heard saying as he slowly opened his eyes. Looking down at his chest, he saw the wound had nearly finished closing. "And don't ever call her a whore or a bitch again. I can and _will_ kill you if you try to hurt her again."

Kakashi scoffed again and said, "Like you can. You're just a weak genin that doesn't deserve the power you wield."

It was at this point that Samus walked up in her suit and aimed her arm cannon at him. "Would you care to see the kind of power he can wield for yourself? I can show you, but I guarantee you won't like being on the receiving end of it. If Naruto wanted to, he could destroy you with his power. You wouldn't be able to stop him either."

Looking at Samus, Kakashi frowned, losing himself in his thoughts. After thinking on it for a while, he said, "Fine. I won't push the matter any further." _For now._

Asuma could tell where Kakashi's thoughts were going and decided to put a stop to it now. "Hokage-sama won't take your side, Kakashi. Your actions on this mission have been a disgrace to Konoha's image. Once I explain to Pops about what has transpired on this mission, I fully expect him to punish you appropriately. You'll be lucky if you even get to continue being the sensei of Team 7."

Kakashi glared at Asuma but rather than retaliate in some manner, he left the room to go and get some rest. _Assholes. We'll see who is punished for the disaster this mission has become. Sasuke's death_ will _be avenged._

Once he was gone, Naruto shook his head and said, "Asshole." The others could only nod in agreement. After a moment, however, he looked at Haku and asked, "Anyways, why would you want to pledge your life to me like that? I don't want to be your master or something. I'd rather be friends."

Haku shook her head and smiled kindly at him. "You promised to give me a purpose. Living for Zabuza-sama is a nice goal, but...it's not the kind of purpose I need. So I pledge myself to you. You are my new master and I will serve you until my dying day. Please do not push me away. I...I couldn't take it."

Naruto sighed and took her hand in his. "Very well. I won't push you away, Haku. But, rather than acting as my slave or something like that, I want us to be friends. Do you think you can act as my equal rather than as a submissive partner?"

Haku blushed a bit and nodded slowly. "S-Sure, Naruto-sama. I would like that."

The blonde sighed and asked, "You're not going to stop calling me that, are you?" Seeing her smirk and shake her head in response, he released a sigh. "Very well, if that's what you want, I won't try to stop you."

"While that's all well and good, Naruto, there's something we need to do." Samus interrupted. "I did a bit of exploring today and found something interesting. In the morning, I would like you to come with me. I promise it will be worth your while."

Naruto quirked a brow at her, but nodded in understanding regardless. "Alright. I trust you, Samus-chan."

Sakura frowned slightly and asked, "Would you mind if I came along as well? I'm curious."

Samus looked at Sakura with a similar frown, but nodded after a while regardless of how she felt. "Very well. I'll allow it. It might be a good idea for you to know what it looks like for future reference."

The pinkette blinked in confusion and asked, "What exactly are we going to look at tomorrow?"

Samus simply smiled and said, "It's the location of a power-up for Naruto's suit. I'm not quite sure what we'll find, but whatever it is, it'll be worth your time, I assure you."

Naruto grinned and said, "Woot! I'll finally get to see what else this baby can do!"

Samus giggled a bit before nodding her head. "Yes, you will. Now, I recommend that you get some rest. You were wounded pretty badly, after all."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. I'm feeling pretty exhausted. Asuma-sensei, I think I'm gonna sleep outside tonight. I don't feel comfortable sharing a room with Kakashi after what's happened."

Asuma sighed, but said, "Alright. Go and get some rest, Naruto. Sleep well." He and the others watched in silence as Naruto left the house to go and get some rest. Once he was gone, Asuma turned to Haku and asked, "Do you think you could keep an eye on him, Haku? Wave may be safe now, but I'd rather not take any chances."

Sakura felt a twinge of jealousy hit her and she asked, "Why didn't you ask me? He's my boyfriend."

Asuma shook his head and looked calmly into her eyes. "I know. I won't tell you that you can't go to him, but I was hoping you would sleep in your room tonight. You could use the rest."

Sakura shook her head and said, "I'd rather be with Naruto-kun. I wonder if he'd like to cuddle?" she wondered before she hurried out the door and ran off in search of Naruto.

Once she was gone, Haku released a sigh and said, "She's the easily jealous type, huh?"

Asuma sighed and shook his head. "There's a reason for that. Naruto's the first person to be so kind to her. She had a seal placed on her by her father that really screwed with her and hurt her at the same time. Naruto was always kind to her, regardless of how she treated him before. She's truly happy with him and doesn't want him to lose interest in her. She's afraid of losing him."

Haku scowled at this and shook her head. "Her father sounds similar to mine. Only he tried to kill me after learning about my kekkei genkai. I was given no choice but to kill him in order to defend myself. I promise, I'll keep a close eye on Naruto-sama and his _girlfriend_." she said before leaving to go and find her new master.

 _The way she said 'girlfriend' worries me. I sincerely hope she and Sakura get along and don't get into some territorial dispute about who Naruto belongs with. Kami that would be quite the headache._ Asuma thought as he went to go and get some rest himself.

 _ **The next morning**_

Naruto looked around the cave with wide eyes. "Wow. Who knew Chozo Ruins could be this amazing?" he said before his eyes settled on the Chozo statue up ahead. Looking at its taloned hands, he saw a spherical device sitting atop them. Instinctively, he activated his Power Suit and proceeded to fire a few shots to destroy the outer shell and reveal what lies beneath.

Samus, Sakura, and Haku all watched as Naruto leapt up onto the Chozo Statue before approaching the power-up. Samus smiled to herself as she said, "I wonder what he'll receive? Whatever it is, it should prove helpful to him."

Upon touching the power-up, Naruto saw a flood of information spread across the inside of his visor. Barely able to keep up with it all, he took a few moments to collect himself and make sense of everything he just learned. When he finally did, he looked down to see the power-up item was gone. Aiming his arm cannon at a nearby pillar, he fired off a shot, watching as ice hit the pillar and spread along the length of it. "Wow."

Samus smiled and said, "So, you've obtained the Ice Beam. How does it feel?"

Naruto deactivated his Power Suit and hopped down off the Chozo statue. "It feels awesome! I wasn't expecting to find something like that here in the Land of Waves. It will definitely come in handy."

Haku smiled at him and said, "Congratulations Naruto-sama. It seems we share in the ability to use ice as our weapon."

Naruto nodded and said, "It would seem so. I'm glad we found this place. Thank you Samus-chan."

Samus simply smiled and shook her head. "No need for thanks. I'm happy to have helped you. And now you three know what to look for when you're out of the village on missions."

"Very true." Haku said. "I thank you for helping my master."

Samus sweatdropped at this and simply shrugged it off as another weird quirk of the people on this planet.

After a short while of just chatting idly in the cave, they decided to venture back to the town and get something to eat. However, upon reaching the town, they were shocked to find people fleeing for their lives from what Samus identified as Rippers. "This isn't good. Rippers are nearly indestructible. Naruto, Haku, use ice to freeze them. Once you do, shatter them as quickly as possible, because they won't stay frozen for long!"

Sakura frowned as she felt useless in this situation. Then she realized that she might be able to help by shattering them when frozen by her friends/allies. So, as the fight went on, she did whatever she could to help shatter these creatures into a bunch of tiny pieces.

After a short while, it looked as if all the Rippers had been defeated. However, when Naruto turned to look at Sakura, he saw a Ripper flying straight at her from behind. Eyes widening, he shouted out, "Sakura-chan! Look out!"

Turning around quickly, Sakura was shocked to see a Ripper mere inches from her. _Oh no..._

* * *

 **A/N - And that's the chapter! I sincerely hope you enjoyed it, because I worked hard on it.**

 **Yes, Sasuke is dead, Gato's been dealt with, Haku has pledged herself to Naruto, etc. A lot of interesting stuff happened in this chapter, huh?**

 **I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, btw. I couldn't resist though. lol. I had a bit of a rough time with this chapter, because I kept getting called away to do a bunch of senseless crap for my family that they were too damn lazy to do themselves. x.x It was frustrating because every time I'd get some work done or was on a roll, I'd get called away again. x.x So yeah, this chapter might be a little lacking in quality because I just could not concentrate on the fic. x.x Bastards.**

 **Anyways, I dunno what I'll work on next. Guess we'll see!**


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